Expanding on this research, Kourtis et al. established the link between Hsf1 upregulation that promotes a T lymphoblastic-initiating cell population (MYC+LIC T-ALL cells) and the constitutive expression of Hsf1 target genes, including Hsp proteins that form a functional epichaperome, an observation that was absent in genetically ablated Hsf1 models resulting in a decrease in tumor size due to a decrease in the T lymphoblastic-initiating cell population (MYC-LIC T-ALL cells) [86]. The gene discussed is MYC; the disease is acute lymphoblastic leukemia.