Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: EC:3.5.1.1 (asparaginase)
 2,695 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Blastic NK cell lymphoma/leukemia is a rare and highly malignant neoplasia in both adults and children. It is characterized by lymphoblastoid morphology without cytoplasmic granules and immature NK cell immunophenotypes (CD56+, CD57-, CD16-). It has predilection for extranodal organ involvement, and the prognosis of affected patients is extremely poor under the current chemotherapy. We present a 14-year-old girl who was diagnosed as having blastic NK cell leukemia with mediastinal, pleural, and pericardial involvement. Immunophenotyping of her leukemic cells showed positive for CD2, CD5, CD7, CD34, CD56, HLA-DR, and cytoplasmic CD3. T cell receptor (TCR) and Immunoglobulin heavy chain genes were not rearranged. She received chemotherapy for acute lymphoblastic leukemia incorporating L-asparaginase (L-asp) which successfully induced complete remission. Bone marrow transplantation (BMT) from her HLA-identical sibling was conducted after two courses of consolidation therapy. Expression of aspargine synthetase (AS) protein in the leukemic cells at diagnosis was examined by an immunocytochemical method. She remains in hematological remission for over 36 months after BMT. The expression of AS protein was negative, suggesting that the leukemic cells were sensitive to L-asp. Induction and consolidation therapy incorporating L-asp followed by allo-BMT might be a promising treatment for child hood blastic NK cell leukemia, but more samples of the rare leukemia need to be studied before any definitive conclusions can be drawn.
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PMID:Childhood blastic NK cell leukemia successfully treated with L-asparagenase and allogeneic bone marrow transplantation. 1512 19

A 46-year-old Japanese man was admitted to our hospital because of prolonged fever. Laboratory examination demonstrated leukopenia, thrombocytopenia, marked liver dysfunction, and elevation of serum ferritin. A bone marrow examination showed several hemophagocytic macrophages, and a diagnosis of hemophagocytic syndrome was made. He was treated using HLH-94 protocol, and his clinical symptoms and laboratory data were rapidly improved. After 5 weeks, fever and liver dysfunction reappeared. A repeat bone marrow examination demonstrated that 28.4% of marrow nucleated cells were atypical lymphocytes, which were positive for CD2, CD7, CD16, CD56, and HLA-DR. Clonality of these proliferating NK cells was confirmed by an analysis of EB virus terminal repeat sequence and cytogenetic analysis, and final diagnosis of aggressive NK-cell leukemia was made. After induction chemotherapy consisting of dexamethasone, etoposide, ifosfamide, and L-asparaginase, the patient achieved partial remission. He received allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation from his one locus mismatched son, and is alive with no evidence of disease 20 months after transplantation.
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PMID:[Aggressive NK-cell leukemia with sustained relapse-free survival after allogeneic peripheral blood stem cell transplantation]. 2046 22

Leukemias arising from immature nature killer (NK) cells have been proposed as distinct entities and are rare. Treatment and prognosis of these diseases are controversial, and data on children are limited. According to the literature, one of these distinct leukemias may be myeloid/NK cell precursor acute leukemia (MNKPL), with the blasts being cytochemically myeloperoxidase negative (MPO(-)) and phenotypically CD56(+)CD3(-)CD7(+)CD34(+) and myeloid antigens(+). The other may be myeloid/NK cell acute leukemia (MNKL), in which the blasts were cytochemically MPO(dim) and phenotypically CD56(+)CD16(-)CD3(-)CD33(+)HLA-DR(-). Between 2005 and 2008, 4 MNKPL and 1 MNKL children aged 1.3 to 12.5 years were encountered in the First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University. In those with MNKPL, remarkable extramedullary involvement usually occurring in adults was not observed; however, myelofibrosis was found in 2 children. The child with MNKL abandoned treatment. Those with MNKPL were treated with a protocol designed for childhood high-risk acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) containing cytarabine, mitoxantrone, etoposide, l-asparaginase, and methotrexate according to the myeloid and lymphoid characteristics of MNKPL. They responded slowly to chemotherapy and were in complete remission (CR) for 26 to 63 months, except 1 who died in CR from pneumonia. They had longer survival and seemed to have a better outcome than those reported previously. In conclusion, childhood leukemias with immature NK cell markers may have different characteristics from their adult counterparts. A protocol including agents used for acute myeloid leukemia combined with those for ALL is seemingly effective for treatment of MNKPL. However, a modified treatment strategy designed more specifically for MNKPL and longer observations are needed.
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PMID:Five Chinese pediatric patients with leukemias possibly arising from immature natural killer cells: clinical features and courses. 2127 77