RUNX1 and acute myeloid leukemia: Thus, using the MLL-AF9 transformation model referenced above, the introduction of this fusion oncoprotein into murine HSCs, which express high levels of Evi1, resulted in the generation of an AML-like disease that retained these high Evi1 expression levels106 and retained epigenetic marks at the MECOM locus that were consistent with those found in HSCs (Figure 3E).