title: Distribution of TP53 mutations among acute leukemias with MLL rearrangements.
abstract: Acute leukemias carrying MLL rearrangements are characterized by a high degree of clinical and immunologic heterogeneity, as demonstrated by variability in their immunophenotype, consistent with lymphoid or myeloid/monoblastic derivation, as well as their occurrence in distinct age groups from infancy to adulthood. Recently, it was shown that inactivation of the TP53 tumor suppressor gene occurs frequently in cases of acute lymphoblastic leukemia carrying MLL rearrangements. In order to assess the extent of TP53 inactivation throughout the immunophenotypic and clinical spectrum of MLL+ acute leukemias, we tested for TP53 mutations 29 cases of MLL+ acute leukemias displaying lymphoid (13 cases) or myeloid/monoblastic (16 cases) features and belonging to different age groups. Mutations were detected in 6/16 myeloid/monoblastic cases and in 3/13 lymphoid cases. Among myeloid/monoblastic leukemias, the TP53 mutations occurred in 3/4 infants, but only in 3/16 cases in other age groups. Overall, our data suggest that (1) TP53 inactivation is a relatively common event in leukemias with MLL rearrangements irrespective of the leukemic phenotype and of the patients' age; (2) at least two genetic lesions (i.e., MLL rearrangement and TP53 mutation) have accumulated in the short time (few weeks after the birth or conception of the child) corresponding to the development of acute leukemias of infancy.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche e Oncologia Umana, Università di Torino, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lanza
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Gaidano
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Cimino
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pastore
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Nomdedeu
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Volpe
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Vivenza
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Parvis
authors.forename: U
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Mazza
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Basso
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Madon
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lo Coco
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Saglio
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D001483:Base Sequence; D002648:Child; D004247:DNA; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D015321:Gene Rearrangement; D011495:Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007938:Leukemia / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009154:Mutation; D051788:Myeloid-Lymphoid Leukemia Protein; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D011519:Proto-Oncogenes; D014157:Transcription Factors; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53 / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C497422:KMT2A protein, human; D014157:Transcription Factors; D016159:Tumor Suppressor Protein p53; D051788:Myeloid-Lymphoid Leukemia Protein; D004247:DNA; D011495:Histone-Lysine N-Methyltransferase