Oncogenic NRAS Primes Primary Acute Myeloid Leukemia Cells for Differentiation.

RAS mutations are frequently found among acute myeloid leukemia patients (AML), generating a constitutively active signaling protein changing cellular proliferation, differentiation and apoptosis. We have previously shown that treatment of AML patients with high-dose cytarabine is preferentially beneficial for those harboring oncogenic RAS. On the basis of a murine AML cell culture model, we ascribed this effect to a RAS-driven, p53-dependent induction of differentiation.