Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0023473 (chronic myeloid leukemia)
 18,916 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The hallmark of chronic myelogenous leukemia is the translocation of the human c-abl protooncogene (ABL) from chromosome 9 to the specific breakpoint cluster region (bcr) of the BCR gene on chromosome 22. The t(9;22)(q34;q11) translocation results in the formation of a BCR-ABL fusion gene that encodes a 210-kDa chimeric protein with abnormal tyrosine kinase activity. The ABL and BCR genes are expressed by normal cells and thus the encoded proteins are presumably nonimmunogenic. However, the joining-region segment of the p210BCR-ABL chimeric protein is composed of unique sequences of ABL amino acids joined to BCR amino acids that are expressed only by malignant cells. The current study demonstrates that the joining region of BCR-ABL protein is immunogenic to murine T cells. Immunization of mice with synthetic peptides corresponding to the joining region elicited peptide-specific, CD4+, class II major histocompatibility complex-restricted T cells. The BCR-ABL peptide-specific T cells recognized only the combined sequence of BCR-ABL amino acids and not BCR or ABL amino acid sequences alone. Importantly, the BCR-ABL peptide-specific T cells could recognize and proliferate in response to p210BCR-ABL protein. The response of peptide-specific T cells to protein demonstrated that p210BCR-ABL can be processed by antigen-presenting cells so that the joining segment is bound to class II major histocompatibility complex molecules in a configuration similar to that of the immunizing peptide and in a concentration high enough to stimulate the antigen-specific T-cell receptor. Thus, BCR-ABL protein represents a potential tumor-specific antigen related to the transforming event and shared by many individuals with chronic myelogenous leukemia.
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PMID:T-cell immunity to the joining region of p210BCR-ABL protein. 134 32

Strong evidence implicates fusion of control elements and 5' sequences of the bcr gene of chromosome 22 with 3' sequences of the c-abl gene of chromosome 9 in the pathogenesis of Ph-positive and certain cases of Ph-negative chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Since this fusion gene gives rise to a chimeric tyrosine protein kinase with transforming potential, and since the bcr exon contribution to this chimeric protein is variable, the question has arisen as to whether bcr breakpoint location and bcr exon contribution could influence the clinical course of CML. Prior studies have yielded conflicting results on this point. Here we have looked, in a manner approximating a prospective analysis, at the relation of bcr breakpoint localization to the duration of chronic phase, total survival, and blast crisis phenotype in 81 patients presenting in the chronic phase of CML. We have found no significant differences in chronic phase duration or total survival among patients with breakpoints in the three major subregions of a breakpoint cluster region within the bcr gene. These findings indicate that chronic phase duration and total survival cannot be predicted from bcr breakpoint for CML patients presenting in chronic phase and suggest that unknown oncogenic events determining the onset of blast crisis are the prime determinants of prognosis. Combined analysis of blast crisis cell lineage in our patients and patients presented in a previous study has revealed an overall ratio of myeloid:lymphoid (M:L) crisis of 3.4:1, but a striking predominance of myeloid crisis in patients with breakpoints in subregion 2 (M:L of 9:1), and a lower than expected M:L ratio (1.6:1) among patients with breakpoints in subregion 3 (P for subregion 2 versus 3 = .012; subregions 0,1,2 versus 3 = .012; subregions 0,1,3 versus 2 = .032). The molecular basis for this divergence from the anticipated M:L ratio in patients with breakpoints in bcr subregions 2 and 3 is unknown.
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PMID:Relationship of bcr breakpoint to chronic phase duration, survival, and blast crisis lineage in chronic myelogenous leukemia patients presenting in early chronic phase. 226 56

Philadelphia chromosome positive acute lymphocytic leukemia and chronic myelogenous leukemia are strongly associated with two distinct forms of bcr-abl chimeric protein, known as P190 and P210, respectively. By studying cDNA clones obtained from the cell line KBM-5, we identified two new bcr-abl transcripts. These are formed by alternative splicing of at least two exons to the known bcr exon 2. One novel transcript can encode a protein kinase of approximately 190 kd, while the other can direct the synthesis of a larger protein whose amino terminus remains to be defined. The alternative exons can be spliced also to the two normal bcr transcripts, reflecting the activation of a cryptic promoter. These messages were present at low abundance in two cases of blastic crisis but were not detected in the chronic phase. It is conceivable that the proteins encoded by the new bcr-abl mRNAs are involved in the transformation to the acute phase in some cases of chronic myelogenous leukemia.
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PMID:Alternative 5' end of the bcr-abl transcript in chronic myelogenous leukemia. 291 4

The Philadelphia chromosome found in essentially all patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia is now known to express a chimeric mRNA of 8.5 kb derived from sequences on chromosome 22 and sequences on chromosome 9. The chromosome 9 component of the chimeric RNA is derived from a subset of the exons of the abl oncogene. A portion of the exonic sequences of a gene referred to as bcr on chromosome 22 make up the amino-terminal portion of this chimeric mRNA and gene product. Our laboratory has recently succeeded in obtaining full-length clones of the 8.5 kb mRNA. The sequence analysis of this large mRNA reveals an exceptionally G-C rich 5' untranslated region. A complete open reading frame initiating in sequences of the bcr gene and reading through the abl oncogene segment has been determined. The sequence also reveals an extremely high percentage of serine residues in the bcr segment of the chimeric protein.
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PMID:Involvement of the abl oncogene in human chronic myelogenous leukemia. 333 6

The Philadelphia chromosome [t(9;22)-(q34;q11)] is the cytogenetic hallmark of human chronic myelogenous leukemia. RNA splicing joins sequences from a gene on chromosome 22 (BCR) across the translocation breakpoint to a portion of the ABL oncogene from chromosome 9, resulting in a chimeric protein (P210) that is an active tyrosine kinase. Although strongly correlated with this specific human neoplasm, and implicated as an oncogene by analogy to the gene product of the Abelson murine leukemia virus, the P210 gene had not been tested directly for oncogenic potential in hematopoietic cells. We have used a retroviral gene-transfer system to express P210 in mouse bone marrow cells. When infected bone marrow is plated under conditions for long-term culture of cells of the B-lymphoid lineage, cells expressing high amounts of P210 tyrosine kinase dominate the culture and rapidly lead to clonal outgrowths of immature lymphoid cells. Expression of P210 is growth-stimulatory but not sufficient for full oncogenic behavior. Some clonal lines progress toward a fully malignant phenotype as judged by increased cloning efficiency in agar suspension and frequency and rapidity of tumor induction in syngeneic mice. Such in vitro systems should be useful in evaluating the sequential and perhaps synergistic involvement of the P210 gene and other oncogenes as models for the progressive changes observed in human chronic myelogenous leukemia.
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PMID:In vitro transformation of immature hematopoietic cells by the P210 BCR/ABL oncogene product of the Philadelphia chromosome. 349 65

The hallmark of chronic myelocytic leukemia is the presence of the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph1). In recent studies, we obtained data that strongly suggested the involvement of an oncogene, c-abl, in this type of leukemia. This oncogene, normally located on chromosome 9, is translocated to chromosome 22 as a result of the Ph1 translocation. In addition, we identified a region on chromosome 22, the breakpoint cluster region (bcr), which contains the chromosomal breakpoint in all patients with chronic myelocytic leukemia who are positive for Ph1. Recent studies have suggested that the bcr is part of a gene that is truncated as a consequence of the Ph1 translocation. The deleted part of this gene could be replaced by c-abl sequences; to test this hypothesis we analyzed the RNA of five patients with chronic myelocytic leukemia. All five had chimeric bcr/c-abl messenger RNA, suggesting that the deleterious effects of this disease can be associated with an abnormal chimeric protein encoded by the bcr and the c-abl oncogene.
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PMID:Evidence of a new chimeric bcr/c-abl mRNA in patients with chronic myelocytic leukemia and the Philadelphia chromosome. 386 9

Cytogeneticists recognize that karyotypic abnormalities are associated with specific malignancies. In 1960, Nowell described the Philadelphia chromosome (Ph) and its relationship to chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Subsequent work in molecular genetics and biology has revealed that the Ph is a translocation that causes fusion of gene sites that code for the break cluster region (BCR) and the avian blastic leukemia (ABL) proteins. This so-called fusion protein is present in a large percentage of the patients who have CML. A related fusion protein is seen in about one third of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia. The BCR-ABL fusion protein results in increased tyrosine kinase activity. The mechanism of action is thought to be via signal transduction related to guanosine triphosphatase activating protein which interacts with a ras-p21 binding protein. Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is associated with the cytogenetic abnormality of t(15;17). This alters the promyelocytic leukemia (PML) and the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) gene sites. Two fusion proteins are the result of this cytogenetic abnormality. They are termed PML-RARA and RARA-PML. Only one, the PML-RARA, is associated with APL. The PML-RARA chimeric protein has two zinc finger-like regions. It retains the ligand binding domain of RARA. The protein called PML has some similarities with a family of proteins which are thought to fuse to proto-oncogenes and to act as transforming proteins. The role of classical cytogenetics and the added capability of molecular biology has helped to elucidate some of the potential mechanisms for the development of cancer and provided additional understanding of neoplasia. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
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PMID:Cytogenetics, gene fusions, and cancer. 748 13

The t(3;21) (q26;q22) chromosomal translocation associated with blastic crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) results in the formation of a chimeric protein fusing the amino-terminal DNA-binding domain encoded by the AML1 gene to the carboxyl-terminal-encoding portion of the Evi-1 gene. In order to evaluate transforming activity of this protein, AML1/Evi-1 was introduced into Rat1 fibroblasts. Cells expressing the fusion product formed macroscopic colonies in soft agar, indicating that AML1/Evi-1 is a transforming gene. It was also demonstrated that introduction of AML1/Evi-1 into the Rat1 clones harboring BCR/ABL also conferred enhanced capacity for anchorage independent growth. Analyses of deletion mutants of AML1/Evi-1 revealed that removal of the second zinc finger domain within the Evi-1 sequence totally abrogated the ability of AML1/Evi-1 to transform Rat1 cells. We showed that the transforming effect is correlated with the AP-1 activation induced by AML1/Evi-1. Furthermore, we demonstrated that c-jun is transcriptionally activated in Rat1 cells transformed by AML1/Evi-1, suggesting that c-jun expression is under control of AML1/Evi-1. These results indicate that the oncogenic effect of the t(3;21) translocation is caused by the generation of a chimeric transcriptional factor and that AML1/Evi-1 could perform a pivotal role in leukemic progression of CML.
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PMID:The AML1/Evi-1 fusion protein in the t(3;21) translocation exhibits transforming activity on Rat1 fibroblasts with dependence on the Evi-1 sequence. 767 44

The process of malignant transformation can be ascribed to a series of characteristics and definable mutations of genes which encode proteins that control cell growth and differentiation. During the course of malignant transformation the cancer-related genes are altered by a variety of mechanisms including translocations, deletions, and point mutations which commonly result in the expression of aberrant proteins. Our laboratory has focused on determining the extent to which cancer-specific proteins expressed by aberrant cancer-related genes can function as tumor-specific antigens. The current paper reviews our studies with two prototype cancer-specific proteins, mutated p21ras protein and chimeric p210bcr-abl protein. Ras protooncogenes are activated by point mutation in approximately 20% of human malignancies. The mutations occur primarily at codons 12 or 61 and result in the expression of p21ras proteins with single substituted amino acids. Only a limited number of amino acid substitutions occur. Murine studies demonstrate that immunization with synthetic peptides corresponding to the mutated segment can elicit both class II restricted CD4+ helper/inducer T-cell responses and class I restricted CD8+ cytotoxic T-cell responses specific for mutated p21ras protein. In addition, the existence in vivo of tumors expressing mutated ras proteins can be detected by assaying for T-cell immunity to the mutated segment of ras protein. Preliminary human studies show that some patients with colon cancer have existent antibody responses to p21ras protein, implying the possible existence of autochthonous T-cell immunity to mutated ras proteins in those patients. In chronic myelogenous leukemia the human c-abl protooncogene from chromosome 9 is translocated to the specific breakpoint cluster (bcr) region on chromosome 22. The translocation results in the formation of a bcr-abl fusion gene that encodes at 210-kD chimeric protein. The joining region segment of chimeric bcr-abl protein is composed of a unique combination of c-abl and bcr amino acids and is expressed only by malignant cells. Studies demonstrate that immunization of mice with synthetic peptides corresponding to the joining region segment can elicit class II restricted CD4+ T-cell responses to p210bcr-abl proteins. Preliminary studies show that bcr-abl peptides can bind in the groove of both murine and human class I MHC molecules and can elicit bcr-abl peptide-specific cytotoxic T lymphocytes (CTL). Whether bcr-abl peptide-specific CTL can lyse cells expressing bcr-abl protein is a yet unknown. In summary, the results of the studies reviewed confirm that cancer-specific oncogenic proteins can serve as tumor-specific antigens.
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PMID:T-cell immunity to oncogenic proteins including mutated ras and chimeric bcr-abl. 810 58

Apoptosis is the major form of cell death associated with the action of chemotherapeutic agents on tumor cells, and therefore the expression of genes that interfere with apoptosis can have important consequences for the efficacy of therapeutic approaches. Here we show that K562, a chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) cell line expressing the BCR-ABL fusion protein, are resistant to the induction of apoptosis by a number of agents and conditions. Antisense oligodeoxynucleotides corresponding to the translation start of bcr downregulate bcr-abl protein in these cells and render them susceptible to induction of apoptosis by chemotherapeutic agents or serum deprivation. Expression of a temperature sensitive v-Abl protein reverses the effects of the antisense oligonucleotides, such that the cells remain resistant to apoptosis at the permissive temperature. These data indicate that bcr-abl acts as an anti-apoptosis gene in CML cells and suggests that the effect is dependent on the abl kinase activity in this chimeric protein. Inhibition of bcr-abl to render CML cells susceptible to apoptosis can be combined with therapeutic drugs and/or treatment capable of inducing apoptosis to provide an effective strategy for elimination of these cells.
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PMID:BCR-ABL maintains resistance of chronic myelogenous leukemia cells to apoptotic cell death. 811 22


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