This identified a core of leukemia stem cell-like cells with high levels of stem cell transcripts (Bcat1, Sox4) and markers (Cd34) and also subpopulations with more differentiated transcriptomes resembling granulocytic, erythroid, basophilic and megakaryocytic states, which demonstrated decreased fitness when isolated and grown in liquid cultures and clonogenic assays (Fig. 5c,d and Extended Data Fig. 9a–e). This evidence concerns the gene SOX4 and leukemia.