CD99 Promotes Self-renewal in Hematopoietic Stem Cells and Leukemia Stem Cells by Regulating Protein Synthesis

Blood production is sustained by hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), which are typically the only blood cells capable of long-term self-renewal. Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is initiated by aberrantly self-renewing malignant stem cells termed leukemia stem cells (LSCs). HSCs exhibit and depend on low levels of protein synthesis to self-renew. However, the mechanisms by which HSCs regulate protein synthesis to maintain their capacity for self-renewal in the setting of proliferative stress and leukemogenesis remain unknown. Here we show CD99, a cell surface protein upregulated in LSCs, is required for self-renewal of proliferating HSCs and LSCs. We found that loss of CD99 in HSCs and LSCs leads to increased protein synthesis and that their self-renewal capacity can be restored by translation inhibition. These data demonstrate a functional role for CD99 in constraining protein synthesis, which may promote the clonal expansion of HSCs and LSCs that leads to AML. Furthermore, they show that similar to HSCs, LSCs depend on regulated protein synthesis.