Proliferation and bone marrow engraftment of AML blasts is dependent on β-catenin signalling.

B-catenin is the central effector molecule of the canonical Wnt signalling pathway, which controls self-renewal of haematopoietic stem cells. Deregulation of this pathway occurs in various malignancies including myeloid leukaemias. The present study examined the functional outcome of stable β-catenin down-regulation through lentivirus-mediated expression of short hairpin RNA (shRNA).