A cytogenetic study of 397 consecutive acute myeloid leukemia cases identified three with a t(7;21) associated with 5q abnormalities and exhibiting similar clinical and biological features, suggesting a new, rare acute myeloid leukemia entity.

The RUNX1 gene is implicated in numerous chromosomal translocations that occur in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and result in chimeric genes. In this study, 397 consecutive AML cases were analyzed using RUNX1 fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) probes. Three cases of the recently described translocation, t(7;21)(p22;q22), were identified, which expressed RUNX1-USP42 (ubiquitin-specific protease 42) fusion transcripts, associated with 5q abnormalities and hyperploidy. These cases displayed homogeneous morphological features (including phagocytosis) and aberrantly expressed CD56 and CD7 lymphoid antigens. Although very few data are available from previously reported cases, when these features are present, a detailed chromosomal analysis, including hybridization with RUNX1 FISH probes, should be performed at diagnosis to recognize chromosomal abnormalities. Additional cases of t(7;21) positive AML should be evaluated to characterize this potentially rare AML entity in greater detail.

Proteomic analysis of malignant B-cell derived microparticles reveals CD148 as a potentially useful antigenic biomarker for mantle cell lymphoma diagnosis.

The diagnosis of mature B-cell neoplasms (MBCN) remains difficult in a number of cases, especially leukemic phases of non-Hodgkin lymphoma, for which discriminating criteria or biomarker are often lacking. To identify new surface biomarkers, we developed an original proteomic approach based on mass spectrometry analysis of plasma membrane microparticles derived from chronic B-cell lymphoproliferations of single patients: chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), small cell lymphoma (SLL) and mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). A straightforward selection process for proteomic-based candidate biomarker identification was further constructed in order to propose potentially useful and relevant biomarkers. Comparison of the lists of the proteins identified in each pathology combined to highly stringent MS validation criteria for protein identification allowed to propose CD148, a membrane receptor with phosphatase activity, as a discriminating biomarker candidate. Flow cytometry analyses, performed on 158 patients and 30 controls, showed that an anti-CD148 antibody stained significantly higher MCL than CLL and SLL circulating cells (p<0.0001), which validates CD148 overexpression in MCL. Our results indicate that a medium or high CD148 expression level may exclude the diagnosis of CLL and high CD148 expression levels (CD148 MFI equal or superior to 2 times the value obtained with CLL/SLL) allows MCL diagnosis to be suspected with 91% specificity (versus CLL and SLL) and 78% sensitivity. This study is one of the first where proteomic strategies allowed to identify a potentially useful biomarker.

Impairment of granulo-monocytic development of human common myeloid progenitors but not of granulo-monocytic progenitors by decreasing stem cell leukemia/T-cell acute leukemia 1 expression.

We recently showed that Stem Cell Leukemia/T-cell Acute Leukemia 1 (SCL/TAL1) regulates hematopoiesis from hematopoietic stem cells to committed myeloid progenitors compartment. However, in this heterogeneous compartment, the precise role of TAL1, that is largely debated, remains to be clearly defined, notably at the common myeloid progenitor (CMP) and granulo-monocytic progenitor (GMP) levels. Using small hairpin (sh)RNA lentiviral constructs, we decreased TAL1 expression in sorted human CMP and GMP subpopulations that were then assayed for erythroid and granulo-monocytic (GM) differentiation. Decreased TAL1 expression in CMP resulted in rare erythroid colonies, in a 2-3 fold reduction of GM colony number in clonogenic assays and in a 3.6-5.6 decreased production of CD14(+)CD15(+) GM cells in liquid culture. Moreover, analysis of transcript profile of gene involved in GM differentiation showed that GM cells expressing shRNA-TAL1 construct displayed decreased levels of g-csfr, c/ebpalpha, and mpo and high levels of gata-2 transcripts, indicating a blocking of GM differentiation. In contrast, GM differentiation of GMP remained unaffected when TAL1 transcript levels were decreased. These data definitively delineate the human myeloid progenitors that are regulated by TAL1. Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest is found at the end of this article.