Acid phosphatase positivity in childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia

The Pediatric Oncology Group analyzed 103 cases of childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) with an acid phosphatase stain and with a series of immunologic markers. As reported by others, the authors demonstrated a high correlation of acid phosphatase (AP) positivity and T-ALL. However, a subset of T-ALL was acid phosphatase negative, and some non-T, non-B, non-pre-B-ALL cases were AP positive. The predictive value of the AP test was, therefore, poor as a marker of T-ALL. AP-negative T-ALL cases appeared to be a distinctive subset of T-ALL, and AP negativity an intrinsic characteristic of this subset, rather than a failure of the test system. AP-positive n-ALL cases demonstrated no difference from AP-negative cases and, in particular, no evidence of early T-ALL differentiation.     

Clinical role of bone marrow angiogenesis in childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia

PURPOSE: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) are associated with increased angiogenesis, growth, and metastasis in solid tumors. But, until today, the importance of theses factors on leukemia, especially childhood acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) has received limited attention. Therefore, this study examined the bone marrow plasma VEGF and bFGF levels in ALL patients and normal controls. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Bone marrow plasmas at diagnosis from 33 ALL patients (median age 5.9 years; range 1.8-13.9 years) were used for analysis. The bone marrow levels of bFGF and VEGF were determined by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (R & D Systems) and compared with the bone marrow levels of 7 healthy control subjects (median age 11.98 years; 6 months -13.6 years). RESULTS: Average VEGF was higher in relapse ALL (N=7, 216.6 +/- 79.9pg/mL) compared to standard (N=9, 36.8 +/- 12.1pg/mL) (p=0.013) or high risk ALL (N=17, 80.0 +/- 12.2pg/mL) (p=0.023). bFGF levels were also significantly higher in relapse than standard-, or high-risk ALL patients (relapse ALL; 48.6 +/- 15.4pg/mL, standard risk ALL; 18.9 +/- 5.5pg/mL, high risk ALL; 19.0 +/- 3.5pg/mL, normal control; 18.6 +/- 4.0pg/mL) (p=0.003). Three patients with refractory relapse and death had much higher VEGF and bFGF values (VEGF; 420.0 +/- 81.6pg/ mL, bFGF; 85.6 +/- 3.2pg/mL). CONCLUSION: Our data suggest that the increased levels of VEGF and bFGF in bone marrow may play an important role in prognosis of childhood ALL.     

Chromosomes in acute lymphocytic leukemia

Results of chromosome analysis in acute lymphocytic leukemia are reviewed. Emphasis is placed on so-called specific translocations and their association with cytology, immunology, and prognosis. Data presently available suggest that chromosomes in acute lymphocytic leukemia are not only an important, independent prognostic factor, but also contribute to a new understanding of leukemic cell origin and pathway, which may enable us to overcome the limitations of present classification schemes.     

Giant mitochondria in acute lymphocytic leukemia

Giant mitochondria were observed in 2 cases among 28 cases of ALL by electron microscopy. The cristae of the giant mitochondria in the leukemic cells were irregularly arranged, decreased in number, and formed concentric circles. Several morphological abnormalities were also observed in the normal mitochondria. Morphometric analysis of the mitochondria in the 2 patients disclosed that the sizes of mitochondria were well distributed from small to large and thus, the mitochondria could not be divided into different populations. Also, there were no clear differences in the distribution of shape between normal and giant mitochondria. These results suggest that the giant mitochondria were derived from normal mitochondria. Since they were observed before the initial treatment, they did not developed as a result of drug action.     

Therapeutic considerations in acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Evidence that the first human neoplasm systematically explored with chemotherapeutic treatments has apparently been cured in a palpable segment of affected patients evokes optimism for other types of cancer. The application of similar effort, similar logic, and quantitative experimental therapeutic approaches to the common cancers augurs well for cancer research and clinical medicine.     

miRNA-93在急性淋巴细胞白血病中的表达

目的:探讨微小RNA(miRNA)-93在急性淋巴细胞白血病中的表达情况及其对急性T细胞白血病细胞株Jurkat增殖的影响和潜在作用机制。方法:Real-time PCR技术检测急性白血病患者骨髓样本中miRNA-93的表达水平。转染miRNA-93 inhibitor下调Jurkat细胞中miRNA-93的表达,分别采用CCK-8法、Ed U法和流式细胞术检测细胞活力、增殖及周期,Western blot检测周期相关调控因子cyclin D1、细胞周期蛋白依赖性激酶4(CDK4)、p-Rb及P27的蛋白表达水平。结果:miRNA-93在急性白血病患者中呈现高表达,且在高危患者中表达水平最高;沉默miRNA-93后,Jurkat细胞的活力下降并出现明显的G1/S期阻滞,同时细胞中cyclin D1、CDK4、p-Rb的蛋白水平显著降低,而P27的蛋白水平显著升高。结论:miRNA-93在急性淋巴细胞白血病中表达显著升高;沉默miRNA-93可通过调控周期相关因子的表达抑制急性T细胞白血病细胞株Jurkat的增殖。     

Serum immunoglobulins and lymphocyte subsets in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

The concentrations of serum immunoglobulins were correlated to the stage of disease and the proportions of peripheral blood lymphocyte subsets in 25 untreated patients with B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Diminished levels of at least one serum immunoglobulin were present in 77% of all patients with CLL and 73% of patients with Stage 0 disease. The mean concentration of IgG, IgM, and IgA decreased with advancing stage of CLL. The percentages of total T, T-helper (TH), and T-suppressor (TS) cells in the peripheral blood were less in patients with CLL than in healthy persons, but the absolute concentrations of total T, TH, and TS cells were greater in patients with CLL than controls (P less than 0.02). The absolute number of B-cells (P less than 0.01) and null cells (P less than 0.001) was also increased in patients with CLL, particularly those patients in advanced stages of CLL. These findings suggest that the hypogammaglobulinemia associated with CLL first occurs during the earliest stage of disease and may be related to the alterations in the proportion of peripheral blood lymphocytes.     

Cytogenetics of childhood acute nonlymphocytic leukemia

Interest in more precise subclassification of the acute leukemias by cytogenetic criteria led us to identify and characterize the full range of chromosomal abnormalities in 121 children with de novo acute nonlymphocytic leukemia (ANLL). Only 21% of the cases had normal karyotypes; 62% had consistent or recurrent alterations, most commonly inv(16) or del(16), t(8;21), t(15;17), t(9;11), t(11;V) or del(11), and -7 or 7q-; and 17% had miscellaneous, apparently random, clonal abnormalities. Statistically significant associations between chromosomal abnormalities and the morphologic/cytochemical subtypes of ANLL, defined by criteria of the French-American-British (FAB) cooperative group were demonstrated for the t(8;21) in M1 and M2 leukemia, t(15;17) in M3, t(9;11) in M5, and translocations involving 11q23 other than t(9;11) [t(11;V)] or del(11q) in M4 and M5. The chromosome 16 inversion was not restricted to the M4 subtype, as is generally reported, and was not uniformly associated with increased and/or abnormal marrow eosinophils. None of these 121 cases were characterized by the Philadelphia chromosome, nor did any have the t(6;9), t(16;16), or inv(3), which have been noted previously in this disease. In addition to confirming several recognized correlations between recurrent structural chromosome abnormalities and FAB subtypes, this study identified novel abnormalities that have not been reported by others. It also disclosed an unusual heterogeneity of chromosome 16 abnormalities with respect to their distribution among FAB subtypes, their association with marrow eosinophilia, and their participation with other chromosomes in translocations.     

Cytogenetic findings in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Chromosome studies were performed on the bone marrow cells of 42 children with newly diagnosed acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). All the children were subsequently treated with the same protocol. Chromosomal abnormalities were found in 25 patients, i.e., in 59.5% of the cases. Hyperdiploidy was observed in 21.4% hypodiploidy in 14.3%, and pseudodiploidy in 23.8% of the children. The most frequent structural aberrations were translocations, which were found in half of the patients with abnormal karyotypes. Chromosomes #5, #6, #7, #9, #14, #17, and #21 were involved in different types of changes most frequently. Because these findings correspond with observations published by others, they can be regarded as evidence of nonrandom involvement of these chromosomes in rearrangements in ALL. Special attention should be also paid to the deletion of 6q, which seems to be relatively common in ALL. In 12 cases, clonal evolution of karyotypic changes was observed.     

Autologous stem cell transplantation in acute lymphocytic leukemia.

Autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) as well as allogeneic stem cell transplantation and conventional chemotherapy (CT) are less effective at treating acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) than acute myelocytic leukemia (AML). Chemoresistance and late relapses are hallmarks of ALL. In this context, the question of whether ASCT is superior to CT remains unanswered. In vitro marrow purging using monoclonal antibodies is not routinely used. This review summarizes the results of ASCT for adult and childhood ALL. Statistics from the European Group for Blood and Marrow Transplantation reveal a transplant-related mortality at 5 years of 11% +/- 1%, a relapse incidence of 60% +/- 2%, and a leukemia-free survival (LFS) and overall survival (OS) of 36% +/- 2% and 42% +/- 2%, respectively in 1,366 adults autografted in first remission (CR1). In 269 children, the LFS and OS were 50% +/- 3% and 54% +/- 3%, respectively. There was no evidence in favor of purging the autograft in vitro. In contrast, multicentric and single-institution studies have found better results in adults autografted in CR1, with LFS at 5 years from 46% to 64%, possible efficacy of marrow in vitro purging with mafosfamide (LFS 52%), and improvement in outcome with additional measures post-ASCT, such as maintenance chemotherapy (LFS 57%). Further, as already observed for AML, analyses by risk groups suggest that ASCT may essentially benefit good- but not poor-risk patients. For patients with the Ph1/bcr-abl translocation, the role of STI571 anti-tyrosine kinase for in vivo purging before stem cell harvesting is being investigated.     

Marker chromosome 1q+ in acute lymphocytic leukemia

This paper presents the results of a cytogenetic analysis on a patient with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL) type L2 according to the FAB classification. Of the metaphases examined, 69.3% belong to the aberrant clone of pseudodiploid karyotype. Marker chromosome 14q+ has been identified in all the cells of the clone. Duplication was found in 30% of the metaphases, and in 15% triplication of the proximal segment of the long arm of chromosome #1 (q11-q21). In one metaphase the long arm of chromosome #1 is made up of segment q11-q21 four times repeated. Aberrations of chromosome #1 support the idea that heterochromatic region may be related to the higher degree of the cell malignity.