title: Molecular Analysis of Central Nervous System Disease Spectrum in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia.
abstract: Treatment of the central nervous system (CNS) is an essential therapeutic component in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). The goal of this study was to identify molecular signatures distinguishing patients with CNS disease from those without the disease in pediatric patients with ALL. We analyzed gene expression data from 207 pediatric patients with ALL. Patients without CNS were classified as CNS1, while those with mild and advanced CNS disease were classified as CNS2 and CNS3, respectively. We compared gene expression levels among the three disease classes. We identified gene signatures distinguishing the three disease classes. Pathway analysis revealed molecular networks and biological pathways dysregulated in response to CNS disease involvement. The identified pathways included the ILK, WNT, B-cell receptor, AMPK, ERK5, and JAK signaling pathways. The results demonstrate that transcription profiling could be used to stratify patients to guide therapeutic decision-making in pediatric ALL.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA.; Department of Public Health Sciences, University of Lusaka, Lusaka, Zambia.
authors.forename: Chindo
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Hicks
authors.affiliation: Children's Cancer Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Jitsuda
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sitthi-Amorn
authors.affiliation: Children's Cancer Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Jessica
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Douglas
authors.affiliation: Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Cold Spring Harbor, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Ritika
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ramani
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics, Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center, New Orleans, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Miele
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Vani
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Vijayakumar
authors.affiliation: Children's Cancer Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Cynthia
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Karlson
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics and Child Health, University of Zambia, Lusaka, Zambia.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chipeta
authors.affiliation: Children's Cancer Center, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Gail
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Megason
keywords: acute lymphoblastic leukemia; central nervous disease spectrum; gene expression