Oncogenic role of WDR5 through cell cycle regulation in T-ALL. (A) Comparison of WDR5 mRNA level in T-ALL cohort vs normal BM controls. (B-E) Association of WDR5 expression with WBC (B), BM blasts (C), survival (D), and relapse (E). The cohort was divided into WDR5^high and WDR5^low groups based on the median value of WDR5 mRNA level as the cutoff value. (F) The association of WDR5 expression with risk stratification in the T-ALL cohort. (G) Comparison of WDR5 mRNA level in 5 paired samples of newly diagnosed vs the relapsed ones. (H) Effect of WDR5 KD by shRNA on its protein level in CEM (left) and MOLT4 (right) cells. (I-J) Effect of WDR5 KD on cell cycle progress in CEM cells (I, representative images; J, bar graph). (K-L) Effect of WDR5 silence by shRNA on spleen weights (K) and percentage of human CD45⁺ cells in the spleen and BM of the xenograft mouse model (L). The mice were IV injected with the CEM-shNC or CEM-shWDR5 cells, respectively, for 28 days, and the single cells were prepared and analyzed. (M) Quantitation data of immunohistological images for human CD45⁺ cells in the spleen from CEM-shNC and CEM-shWDR5 mice. ∗P < .05; ∗∗P < .01; ∗∗∗P < .001. PI, propidium iodine; WBC, white blood cell.