KITLG and acute myeloid leukemia: As shown in Fig. 2H–J, mRNA levels of haematopoiesis-related genes CXCL12, KITLG, NFKB1 and immune-related genes HAVCR2, LGALS9, CIITA were increased in higher-risk MDS and AML BM EPCs compared with lower-risk MDS BM EPCs.