Editor's Summary
12 April 2007
Cancer genomics
High-resolution genome-wide profiling of DNA copy number abnormalities using SNP microarrays has been used to identify genetic lesions associated with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, the most common cancer of childhood. The analysis of leukaemic blast cells from 242 patients revealed deletion, amplification, point mutation and structural rearrangement in genes encoding key regulators of B lymphocyte development in 40% of B-progenitor acute lymphoblastic leukaemia cases. PAX5 was the most frequent target. The data highlight small-molecule inducers of differentiation that can by-pass the block caused by these genetic lesions as a focus for research in new therapeutics, and more generally demonstrate the potential for similar genome-wide approaches as a means of identifying new molecular lesions in cancer. The cover image shows fluorescence in situ hybridization of leukaemia cells showing fusion of PAX5 at chromosome 9p13 (red), to ZNF521 at 18q11.2 (green).
News and Views: Genomics: Global views of leukaemia
Genomic characterization of a type of leukaemia has resulted in the identification of common genetic abnormalities that underlie the disease. The results constitute an advance on several fronts.
Todd R. Golub
doi:10.1038/446739a
Article: Genome-wide analysis of genetic alterations in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia
Charles G. Mullighan, Salil Goorha, Ina Radtke, Christopher B. Miller, Elaine Coustan-Smith, James D. Dalton, Kevin Girtman, Susan Mathew, Jing Ma, Stanley B. Pounds, Xiaoping Su, Ching-Hon Pui, Mary V. Relling, William E. Evans, Sheila A. Shurtleff & James R. Downing
doi:10.1038/nature05690
Abstract | Full Text | PDF (941K) | Supplementary information
