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Query: EC:2.7.10.1 (
ERK
)
95,504
document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)
Somatic mutation of the
FLT3
gene as an internal tandem duplication (ITD) of the juxtamembrane domain-coding sequence causes constitutive tyrosine phosphorylation and activation. Tumor-specific DNA has been documented in the sera of patients with solid tumors even when it is in an early stage. We compared the detection of
FLT3
ITD in DNA extracted from cells of bone marrow (BM) aspirations with DNA extracted from peripheral blood (PB) plasma in patients newly diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia (AML; 85 patients), myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS; 16 patients), and acute lymphocytic leukemia (
ALL
; 16 patients).
FLT3
ITD was detected in 18 (21%) AML samples and in one (6%) MDS sample in both cellular and plasma DNA but in none of the
ALL
samples. Hemizygous/homozygous
FLT3
ITD was detected in five (28%) of the
FLT3
ITD-positive AML using plasma DNA, whereas only four of these cases showed hemizygous/homozygous
FLT3
ITD using cellular DNA. The presence of
FLT3
ITD was associated with significantly shorter survival (P = 0.02) when only patients younger than 50 years of age (48 AML+MDS patients) were considered. This finding was independent of cytogenetics in this age group. However, patients with the
FLT3
ITD hemizygous/homozygous phenotype had even shorter survival (P = <0.001). As expected, the presence of
FLT3
ITD correlated with higher white blood cell (WBC) counts. These data demonstrate that plasma DNA is a reliable alternative resource for detecting FLT3ITD, especially the hemizygous/homozygous genotype. Furthermore, the data derived from this study support the notion that the presence of
FLT3
ITD in conjunction with the absence of the wild-type
FLT3
allele predicts an especially poor prognosis for patients with AML.
...
PMID:Better detection of FLT3 internal tandem duplication using peripheral blood plasma DNA. 1252 67
The area of molecularly-targeted cancer therapeutics is generating tremendous interest and excitement. While clinical investigation of these agents has been largely limited to adults, clinical trials for paediatric cancer patients with many of these agents are now underway. This paper reviews the current status of molecularly-targeted therapies for paediatric malignancies, with special attention given to one class of agents, inhibitors of the FLT3 receptor tyrosine kinase.
FLT3
is expressed and activated in many human leukemias, including a significant percentage of pediatric AML and infant and childhood ALL, especially in the setting of MLL gene rearrangement. Activating mutations of
FLT3
portend a poor prognosis in pediatric AML. Activated
FLT3
can be effectively and selectively targeted by small molecule inhibitors, and these agents have shown promise in early phase clinical trials in adults with AML. Limited preclinical data with
FLT3
inhibitors in MLL-rearranged
ALL
have also been reported. Challenges and future directions for the use of
FLT3
inhibitors and other targeted agents in paediatric cancer are discussed.
...
PMID:FLT3 inhibitors: a paradigm for the development of targeted therapeutics for paediatric cancer. 1501 72
Major strides have been made in our understanding of the molecular basis of adult and pediatric leukemias. More than one hundred disease alleles have been identified and characterized in cell culture and murine models of leukemia. In some instances, molecularly targeted therapies have been developed based on these insights that are currently in clinical trials, such as small molecule inhibitors of
FLT3
. In addition, it has recently been appreciated that, as with normal hematopoiesis, there is a hierarchical organization among leukemic cells that includes a rare population of leukemic stem cells that have properties of self-renewal. Understanding the characteristics of these leukemic stem cells may provide new insights into leukemia therapies that target self-renewal pathways. In Section I, Dr. Craig Jordan reviews the data that supports the existence of a "leukemia stem cell." He provides an overview of the functional properties of leukemic stem cells, their relationship to hematopoietic stem cells, and the relevance of leukemic stem cells in other human malignancies including solid tumors. He briefly discusses what is known of the pathways that regulate properties of self-renewal. Dr. Gary Gilliland provides an overview of the genetics of adult leukemias in Section II and ongoing genome-wide strategies for discovery of new disease alleles. He describes the clinical and therapeutic implications of these findings and provides examples of bench-to-bedside translation of molecularly targeted therapies for AML, including the use of
FLT3
inhibitors. In Section III, Dr. Carolyn Felix reviews recent advances in our understanding of the genetics and therapy of pediatric leukemias. She provides an overview of leukemias that are common in pediatric malignancies but rarely observed in adults, including the TEL-AML1 (ETV6-RUNX1) fusion associated with pediatric B-cell
ALL
, the OTT-MAL fusion associated with infant megakaryoblastic leukemia, PTPN11 mutations in juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia, and MLL fusion genes in leukemogenesis, among others.
...
PMID:The molecular basis of leukemia. 1556 78
FLT3
is a class III receptor tyrosine kinase together with
KIT
,
FMS
and
PDGFR
.
FLT3
mutations were first reported as internal tandem duplication (
FLT3
/ITD) of the juxtamembrane domain-coding sequence, and subsequently as a missense mutation of D835 (
FLT3
/KDM) within a kinase domain. Furthermore, point mutations, deletions, and insertions in the codons surrounding D835 have also been found.
FLT3
/ITD and
FLT3
/KDM occur in 15% to 35% and 5% to 10%, respectively, of patients with AML.
FLT3
mutations are, therefore, the most frequent genetic alterations so far reported in AML. Several large-scale studies have confirmed that
FLT3
/ITD is strongly associated with leukocytosis and a poor prognosis. Although the clinical significance of
FLT3
/KDM is controversial, the meta-analysis suggests its adverse effect on the outcome.
FLT3
/ITD is far less common in patients with
ALL
, whereas
FLT3
/KDM is recurrently found in patients with
ALL
, especially in those harboring an MLL gene rearrangement or hyperdiploidy. The overexpression of
FLT3
transcripts has been demonstrated in a pro-portion of the AML patients without
FLT3
mutations, which are associated with a poor prognosis for overall survival. Routine screening of
FLT3
mutations is recommended to stratify the patients into distinct risk groups, while the optimal treatment strategy for patients with
FLT3
mutations should be further evaluated.
...
PMID:Clinical significance of FLT3 in leukemia. 1614 37
Mutations within the
FLT3
gene are of growing importance for classification, risk assessment, and therapeutic targeting of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We analyzed 656 AML patients for a recently described single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the third immunoglobulin-like domain of the extracellular region of
FLT3
. The
FLT3
D324N variant was present in 42 cases (6.4%), but it was not associated with a specific AML subtype and did not show an elevated leukocyte count, as do other
FLT3
mutations. In remission samples, a 50% ratio of the normal to the D324N variant was detectable. Stably expressed in IL-3 dependent Ba/F3 cells, the D324N variant did not confer receptor autophosphorylation, factor independent growth, or increased resistance to apoptotic cell death in response to varying doses of
FLT3
ligand. In 400 healthy donors, the
FLT3
D324N variant was detected in 6 cases (1.5%) and segregated in a family. Thus, it was shown to be a polymorphism with a lower frequency in healthy controls than in patients with AML (P < 0.001). In addition, 21 of 234 CML (9.0%) and 7 of 155
ALL
(4.5%) cases carried the
FLT3
D324N. Our data suggest that the
FLT3
D324N variant might be associated with a predisposition to different subtypes of leukemia.
...
PMID:D324N single-nucleotide polymorphism in the FLT3 gene is associated with higher risk of myeloid leukemias. 1632 Feb 49
An 18-month-old girl was diagnosed with pre-pre-B
ALL
/t(4;11) leukemia, which during the treatment and after matched bone marrow transplantation (BMT), underwent two consecutive switches from lymphoid to myeloid lineage and vice versa. The high expression of HOXA9 and
FLT3
genes remaining genotypically stable in a leukemia throughout phenotypic switches, suggests that this leukemia may have originated as a common B/myeloid progenitors.
...
PMID:Two consecutive immunophenotypic switches in a child with MLL-rearranged acute lymphoblastic leukemia. 1670 17
We performed aCGH,
SKY
/FISH, molecular mapping and expression analyses on a permanent CD8+ NK/T cell line, 'SRIK-NKL' established from a lymphoma (
ALL
) patient, in attempt to define the fundamental genetic profile of its unique NK phenotypes. aCGH revealed hemizygous deletion of 6p containing genes responsible for hematopoietic functions. The
SKY
demonstrated that a constitutive reciprocal translocation, rcpt(5;14)(p13.2;q11) is a stable marker. Using somatic hybrids containing der(5) derived from SRIK-NKL, we found that the breakpoint in one homologue of no. 5 is located upstream of IL7R and also that the breakpoint in no. 14 is located within TRA@. The FISH analysis using a BAC which contains TRA@ and its flanking region further revealed a approximately 231kb deletion within 14q11 in the der(5) but not in the normal homologue of no. 14. The RT-PCR analysis detected mRNA for TRA@ transcripts which were extending across, but not including, the deleted region. IL7R was detected at least at mRNA levels. These findings were consistent with the immunological findings that TRA@ and IL7R are both expressed at mRNA levels and TRA@ at cytoplasmic protein levels in SRIK-NKL cells. In addition to rcpt(5;14), aCGH identified novel copy number abnormalities suggesting that the unique phenotype of the SRIK-NKL cell line is not solely due to the TRA@ rearrangement. These findings provide supportive evidence for the notion that SRIK-NKL cells may be useful for studying not only the function of NK cells but also genetic deregulations associated with leukemiogenesis.
...
PMID:Genomic analysis of CD8+ NK/T cell line, 'SRIK-NKL', with array-based CGH (aCGH), SKY/FISH and molecular mapping. 1764 Jul 29
Neurotrophins and their receptors play a key role in neurogenesis and survival. However, we and others have recently obtained evidence for a potential involvement of this receptor system in leukemia. To investigate mechanisms underlying the leukemogenic potential of activated neurotrophin receptor signaling, we analyzed in vivo leukemogenesis mediated by deltaTrkA, a mutant of
TRKA
(tropomyosin-related kinase A) isolated from a patient with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Retroviral expression of deltaTrkA in myeloid 32D cells induced AML in syngeneic C3H/Hej mice (n=11/11, latency approximately 4 weeks). C57Bl/6J mice transplanted with deltaTrkA-transduced primary lineage negative (Lin-) bone marrow cells died of a transient polyclonal AML (n=7/15, latency of <12 days). Serial transplantation of AML cells did not re-induce this disease but rather acute lymphoblastic leukemia (
ALL
, latency >78 days). All primary recipients surviving the early AML developed clonal
ALL
or myeloid leukemia (latency >72 days) that required additional genetic lesions. PI3K and mTOR-raptor were identified as the crucial mediators of leukemic transformation, whereas STAT and MAP kinase signaling pathways were not activated. Thus, our findings reveal potent and unique transforming properties of altered neurotrophin receptor signaling in leukemogenesis, and encourage further analyses of neurotrophin receptors and downstream signaling events in hematological malignancies.
...
PMID:Remarkable leukemogenic potency and quality of a constitutively active neurotrophin receptor, deltaTrkA. 1767 3
Infant
ALL
is uncommon, biologically distinctive from the disease in older children, and associated with a relatively poor prognosis. Adverse prognostic factors include the presence of an MLL gene rearrangement (observed in up to 80% of infants with
ALL
), younger age at diagnosis, high presenting leukocyte counts, and slow early response to therapy. The role of stem cell transplant in first remission remains controversial. Current research efforts to improve the outcome of MLL-rearranged
ALL
in infants include clinical trials testing cytarabine-intensive regimens and translational investigations of novel, targeted therapies, such as
FLT3
-inhibitors.
...
PMID:Acute lymphoblastic leukemia in infancy. 1794 56
During 1995-2004, 209 children/adolescents were diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic or myeloid leukemia (
ALL
, AML) in Southern Sweden, of which 177 (85%), comprising 128 B-lineage
ALL
, 34 AML, and 15 T-cell
ALL
, could be analyzed for internal tandem duplications (ITD) and activating point mutations in the second tyrosine kinase domain (ATKD) of
FLT3
. Seventeen (10%)
FLT3
mutations (6 ITD, 11 ATKD; mutually exclusive) were detected. None of the T-cell
ALL
harbored any mutations. ITD and ATKD were found in 2% and 6% of the B-lineage
ALL
and in 12% and 9% of the AML, being particularly common in high hyperdiploid
ALL
(14%),
ALL
(20%), and AML (23%) with 11q23/MLL rearrangements, and in AML with a normal karyotype (60%). All ATKD-positive AML with MLL rearrangements harbored the t(9;11)(p21;q23). Global gene expression data were available for 76 of the B-lineage
ALL
and 19 of the AML, of which 6 (8%) and 3 (16%) had
FLT3
mutations, respectively. No distinct expression pattern associated with
FLT3
mutations was identified.
...
PMID:FLT3 mutations in a 10 year consecutive series of 177 childhood acute leukemias and their impact on global gene expression patterns. 1794 71
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