ATG7 and myelodysplastic syndrome: Since mice lacking Atg7 in HSCs develop an atypical myeloproliferation resembling human MDS progressing to AML as consequence of accumulation of damaged mitochondria and reactive oxygen species (ROS) (Mortensen et al., 2011; Watson et al., 2011), we first investigated the effects of 5-AZA after basal autophagy inhibition.