Characterization of The Heterogeneity of Bone Marrow in NK-AML (M4/M5) Based on Single Cell RNA Sequencing

Abstract Normal karyotype acute myeloid leukemia (NK-AML) is a heterogeneous hematological malignancy that composes a minor of self-renewing leukemia stem cells (LSC), complicating efforts to achieve long-term survival. We performed single-cell RNA sequencing to profile 39288 cells from 6 bone marrow aspirates, including 5 NK-AML(M4/M5) patients and 1 healthy donor. The single cell transcriptome atlas and the gene expression characteristics of each cell population in NK-AML (M4/M5) and healthy bone marrow (BM) were obtained. Besides, we identify a distinct LSC-like cluster with possible biomarkers in NK-AML(M4/M5)and verified 6 genes using qRT-PCR analysis and bioinformatics analysis. In conclusion, we provide single-cell technologies and an atlas of NK-AML(M4/M5) cell heterogeneity, composition, and biomarkers with implications for precision medicine and target therapies.