A 57-gene expression signature in B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
B-CLL is the most frequent type of leukemia in the Western countries. The disease, common among the elderly, follows a variable course in terms of survival time and symptoms. There is evidence that the accumulation of lymphocytes in peripheral blood and bone marrow is due to a cell resistance to apoptosis rather than to highly proliferative cells. Genetic mechanisms that lead to the development and progression of disease are mainly unknown, although a number of prognostically and diagnostically important genetic markers have been identified. The aim of this study is to investigate the gene expression profile, by a specific chip for microarray analysis, in B-CLL lymphocytes with regard to factors involved in apoptosis cascade, signal transduction, purine metabolism enzymes, interleukin expression, enzymes involved in the responses to oxidative stress. We found relevant results in a set of 19 of the 57 genes considered. IMP dehydrogenase, adenine phosphoribosyltransferase, adenylosuccinate lyase, adenylate kinase, ADORA1, G-protein-coupled receptor kinase 6, Bcl-2-like 1 isoform 2, caspase 6, and 8 were found underexpressed; while ADORA3, Gars-Airs-Gart, adenylate kinase 3, adenylate deaminase, NMN adenylyltransferase, CD26, CD38, interleukins 18 and 4 were found overexpressed. The microarray technique is a powerful method for identification of potential important diagnostic and prognostic markers, besides giving prominence to genes candidate for further studies.
Carlucci
F
F
Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, Scienze Endocrino-Metaboliche e Biochimica, Sezione di Biochimica, Università degli Studi di Siena, Siena, Italy. carlucci@unisi.it
Marinello
E
E
Tommassini
V
V
Pisano
B
B
Rosi
F
F
Tabucchi
A
A
D015720:5'-Nucleotidase / Q000235:genetics; D017209:Apoptosis; D016207:Cytokines / Q000235:genetics; D020869:Gene Expression Profiling; D006801:Humans; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000235:genetics*; D009243:NAD / Q000378:metabolism; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis; D018384:Oxidative Stress; D011685:Purine Nucleotides / Q000378:metabolism; D015398:Signal Transduction
D016207:Cytokines; D011685:Purine Nucleotides; D009243:NAD; D015720:5'-Nucleotidase