Stem and progenitor analysis of normal and AML bone marrow cells. Representative phenotype of the bone marrow cells in a normal control (A), FLT3-WT AML (B), and FLT3-ITD AML (C). Human CD34⁺CD38⁻ cells are enriched for normal HSCs with long-term reconstitution activity, and are Thy-1⁺FLT3^loc-KIT⁺IL-3R⁺CD45RA⁻. In contrast, CD34⁺CD38⁻ AML LSCs were Thy-1⁻ and expressed a high level of FLT3 compared with normal HSCs. The LSCs expressed a variety of levels of c-KIT, and were IL-3R⁺CD45RA⁺, resembling GMPs' phenotype. No significant difference in expression level of these molecules was found between FLT3-ITD and FLT3-WT AML LSCs.