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Tuesday 2 March 2010

Key player found for transient leukaemia seen more commonly in babies with Down syndrome

Between 5 and 10 percent of babies with Down syndrome develop a transient form of leukemia that usually resolves on its own. However, for reasons that haven't been clear, 20 to 30 percent of these babies progress to a more serious leukemia known as Down syndrome acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (DS-AMKL), which affects the blood progenitor cells that form red blood cells and platelets. Now, researchers at Children's Hospital Boston have found a gene regulator they believe to be a key player in DS-AMKL, advancing understanding of how the disease develops and how to treat it.

The study findings, published in the March 1 issue of Genes and Development, may also help in understanding other forms of leukemia, the researchers say
. Click here to read the full text of the news release from Children's Hospital, Boston.

Citation:
Jan-Henning Klusmann, Zhe Li, Katarina Bahmer, Aliaksandra Maroz, Mia Lee Koch, Stephan Emmrich, Frank J. Godinho, Stuart H. Orkin, Dirk Reinhardt. miR-125b-2 is a potential oncomiR on human chromosome 21 in megakaryoblastic leukemia. Genes and Development March 1, 2010: 24(5)

The full text of the article is available free online from the journal's website, here, either as a web page or a .pdf file.

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