RSPO2 inhibits BMP signaling to promote self-renewal in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a rapidly progressing cancer, for which chemotherapy remains standard treatment and additional therapeutic targets are requisite. Here, we show that AML cells secrete the stem cell growth factor R-spondin 2 (RSPO2) to promote their self-renewal and prevent cell differentiation. Although RSPO2 is a well-known WNT agonist, we reveal that it maintains AML self-renewal WNT independently, by inhibiting BMP receptor...