Lonely in Paris: when one gene copy isn't enough.
Circulating platelets are continually replenished by fragmentation of terminally differentiated megakaryocytes. Processes disrupted in inherited thrombocytopenias frequently shed light on normal thrombopoietic mechanisms. An especially rare condition called Paris-Trousseau syndrome (PTS) seems to occur by virtue of hemizygous loss of the FLI1 transcription factor gene. Provocative new data suggest that FLI1 shows monoallelic expression during a brief window in megakaryocyte differentiation, which thus explains the dominant inheritance pattern of PTS despite the presence of one normal FLI1 allele.
Shivdasani
Ramesh A
RA
Department of Medical Oncology, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, Boston, Massachusetts 02115, USA. ramesh_shivdasani@dfci.harvard.edu
D002454:Cell Differentiation; D002880:Chromosomes, Human, Pair 11 / Q000235:genetics*; D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins / Q000235:genetics; D017353:Gene Deletion; D006801:Humans; D008533:Megakaryocytes / Q000473:pathology / Q000502:physiology; D051789:Proto-Oncogene Protein c-fli-1; D013577:Syndrome; D013921:Thrombocytopenia / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D015534:Trans-Activators / Q000235:genetics; D014158:Transcription, Genetic / Q000235:genetics
D004268:DNA-Binding Proteins; C078433:FLI1 protein, human; D051789:Proto-Oncogene Protein c-fli-1; D015534:Trans-Activators