Furthermore, since in vivo LSCs directly interact with bone marrow niche and cells and not only affect them but also are affected by them, co-culturing AML cells with bone-marrow-derived adipocytes and assessing the effect of TIM-3/Gal-9 interaction on leukemic cells and adipocytes can be a subject of interest. The gene discussed is LGALS9; the disease is acute myeloid leukemia.