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Abstract title
FUNCTION AND CLINICAL APPLICATION OF EMBRYONIC GENE
NANOG IN CANCER
Author
Lipscomb, Thomas H. , Yorktown High School, Yorktown Heights ,
United States of America
Co-author(s)
Zhang, L. M.D., Weill Medical College of Cornell Univ., New York City,
United States of America
Karajannis, M.A. M.D., Weill Medical College of Cornell Univ., New
York City, United States of America
Rafii, S. M.D., Weill Medical College of Cornell Univ., New York City,
United States of America
Jin, D.K. M.D. Ph.D., Weill Medical College of Cornell Univ., New York
City, United States of America
Topic 18. Acute myeloid leukemia - biology
Keywords Gene expression
Acute myeloid leukemia
Stem and progenitor cell
Gene therapy
Presentation
Preference
Poster presentation
Abstract text
BACKGROUND AND AIMS
Each year about 9,000 people die from acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a form of malignancy
affecting the hematopoietic stem cells in the bone marrow. The average age of a patient with AML
is 65 years old. Overall, the survival rate in adults under 65 is about 33%, but it is 4% for people
over 65. The division of normal cells is a regulated process, but when that regulation breaks down,
cells become cancerous and divide out of control. Only a few cancer cells have the ability to
replicate indefinitely. They are called cancer stem cells, and they are responsible for cancer’s long-
term growth and possibly metastasis. The embryonic gene Nanog is responsible for maintaining
the embryonic stem cells (ESCs) in an immature state to maintain their self-renewal capability and

2. allow long-term proliferation. Our aim was to determine if decreasing Nanog expression could
decrease proliferation in HL60 cancer cells as it does in embryonic stem cells.
METHODS AND RESULTS
Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) shows that Nanog is expressed in an AML cell line HL60,
SA726 AML cells primary human AML cells, and circulating mononuclear cells from a patient
diagnosed with glioblastoma, the deadliest and most common type of brain cancer. Nanog
expression did not decrease when the SA726 AML cells were subjected to all-trans retinoic acid
differentiation factor for a week. Trypan blue staining shows that cell proliferation decreased when
HL60 was subjected to 25 micromolars of sodium orthovanadate. Real-time PCR suggests a
decrease in Nanog expression after HL60 AML cells were subjected to 25 micromolars of sodium
orthovanadate for 72 hours.
Nanog and other embryonic genes may be highly specific cancer molecular biomarkers for new
diagnosis and therapeutic targets. Possible cancer treatments in the future may target Nanog and
its signaling pathways using small molecule inhibitors or gene-based therapy by delivering
shRNAi- or Zinc Finger Nuclease-plasmids to target cancer stem cells.
Also, two suspended blastocyst-like clusters (Figure 1) were found on day 7 of SA726 AML cell
culture on Mouse Embryonic Fibroblast feeder cells in Minimum Essential Medium 10% Fetal
Calf Serum. These are indicative of embryonic behavior of the cancer cells.
Suspended blastocyst-like SA726 AML cell clusters
CONCLUSION
These preliminary results suggest that a decrease in the cancer cell population happens
concurrently with a decrease in Nanog expression. This may justify a future study to investigate a
possible causal relationship.