Two models of the interaction of leukemic cells and their microenvironment.
While leukemic cells can induce changes in HSC niche (a), abnormalities in bone marrow microenvironment have a potential to initiate hematological malignancies (b). It is of note that these two models are not mutually exclusive. They can form a self-reinforcing loop, contributing to the disease progression. KO; knockout, OE; overexpression.