Hematopoiesis News Volume 2.13 | Apr 5 2011

UCSF Researchers Identify Promising New Treatment for Childhood Leukemia
An experimental drug lessens symptoms of a rare form of childhood leukemia and offers significant insight into the cellular development of the disease, according to findings from a new study. [Press release from the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) discussing online prepublication in Science Translational Medicine]

DNA Flaws Can Stack Up as Cancer Grows
As a man’s cells grew cancerous, a wide range of mutations gradually emerged too, a new gene sequencing study finds. [Press release from ScienceNews discussing data presented at the Research in Computational Molecular Biology Conference]

LABORATORY RESEARCH

Clonal Selection in Xenografted Human T Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Recapitulates Gain of Malignancy at Relapse
Scientists used genome-wide profiling to compare human T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia samples at the time of diagnosis and after engraftment (xenograft) into immunodeficient recipient mice. [J Exp Med]

3’UTR-Truncated Hmga2 cDNA Causes Myeloproliferative Neoplasms-Like Hematopoiesis by Conferring a Clonal Growth Advantage at the Level of HSC in Mice
Researchers were interested in the effect of high mobility group AT-hook 2 (HMGA2) overexpression in hematopoietic tissues in transgenic mice (ΔHmga2 mice) carrying a 3’UTR-truncated Hmga2 cDNA. [Blood]

Heterozygous ITGA2B R995W Mutation Inducing Constitutive Activation of the αIIbβ3 Receptor Affects Proplatelet Formation and Causes Congenital Macrothrombocytopenia
Investigators proposed that activating mutations in ITGA2B and ITGB3 represent the etiology of a subset of congenital macrothrombocytopenias. [Blood]

Regulatory Effects of TLR2 on Megakaryocytic Cell Function
Using Meg-01 cells and mouse megakaryocytes, scientists found that NFκB, ERK-MAPK, and PI3K/Akt pathways, known downstream pathways of Toll-Like Receptors (TLRs), are activated by Pam3CSK4, a TLR2-specific ligand. [Blood]

Kit-Shp2-Kit Signaling Acts to Maintain a Functional Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cell Pool
This study revealed a critical role of Shp2 in maintenance of a functional HSC/progenitor pool in adult mammals, at least in part through a kinase-phosphatase-kinase cascade. [Blood]

Tip110/p110^nrb/SART3/p110 Regulation of Hematopoiesis Through c-Myc
Using Tat-interacting protein of 110 kDa (Tip110) transgenic and haploinsufficient (+/-) mice, investigators found that increased Tip110 expression enhanced hematopoietic progenitor cell numbers, survival, and cell cycling, while decreased Tip110 expression had the opposite effects. [Blood]

Repression of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Expression by the Runt-Related Transcription Factor 1 in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Scientists found a significant (P less than 0.0001) inverse correlation between expression of VEGFA and acute myeloid leukemia 1 (AML1)/RUNX1 in a large set of gene expression array data. [Cancer Res]

The Developmental Regulator Gon4-Like Associates with Yin Yang 1, Sin3a and HDAC1 and Mediates Transcriptional Repression
Data suggested that Sin3a, HDAC1 and YY1 are co-factors for Gon4-like protein (Gon4l) and that Gon4l may function as a platform for the assembly of complexes that regulate gene expression. [J Biol Chem]

A MEK Inhibitor Abrogates Myeloproliferative Disease in Kras Mutant Mice
Researchers used PD0325901, a highly selective pharmacological inhibitor of mitogen-activated or extracellular signal–regulated protein kinase (MEK), a downstream component of the Ras signaling network, to address how deregulated Raf/MEK/ERK (extracellular signal–regulated kinase) signaling drives neoplasia in Mx1-Cre, Kras^LSL-G12D mice. [Sci Transl Med]

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Long Term Treatment with Eculizumab in Paroxysmal Nocturnal Hemoglobinuria: Sustained Efficacy and Improved Survival
Scientists evaluated 79 consecutive patients treated with eculizumab in Leeds between May 2002 and July 2010. [Blood]

Phase I Study of Arsenic Trioxide, High-Dose Cytarabine, and Idarubicin to Down-Regulate Constitutive Signal Transducer and Activator of Transcription 3 Activity in Patients Aged Less Than 60 Years with Acute Myeloid Leukemia
A Phase I clinical trial to evaluate the biologically effective dose and/or the maximally tolerated dose  of arsenic trioxide in vivo in conjunction with high-dose cytarabine and idarubicin in patients with acute myeloid leukemia aged less than 60 years was conducted. [Cancer]

Walk Away with a RoboSep™ Facebook Photo Contest Winners
STEMCELL Technologies has announced the Grand Prize Winner and Finalists of the “Walk Away With A RoboSep™” Facebook photo contest. [STEMCELL Technologies Inc. Press Release]

ARIAD and MolecularMD Announce Collaboration for a Companion Diagnostic Test for the T315I BCR-ABL Mutation in Patients with CML
ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. and MolecularMD Corporation announced an exclusive collaboration agreement in which MolecularMD will develop and commercialize a companion diagnostic test to identify the T315I mutation of the BCR-ABL gene in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia and Philadelphia positive acute lymphoblastic leukemia. [ARIAD Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Press Release]

America Stem Cell, Inc. Receives Orphan Drug Designation for ASC-101
America Stem Cell, Inc. announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has granted Orphan Drug Designation to ASC-101 to improve homing to bone marrow in patients receiving hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. [American Stem Cell, Inc. Press Release]

Ching-Hon Pui, M.D., Recognized with American Association for Cancer Research Award
Ching-Hon Pui, M.D.is the recipient of the 2011 Joseph H. Burchenal Memorial Award for Outstanding Achievement in Clinical Research from the American Association for Cancer Research. [St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital Press Release]

DF/HCC Members Awarded Grants Amid Tight Funding Environment
The National Institutes of Health continues to recognize Dana Farber/Harvard Cancer Center (DF/HCC) as a leader in cancer research by awarding funding to a number of their research initiatives. [Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center Press Release]

Cephalon Launches Recommended Takeover Bid for Australian Biopharmaceutical Company, ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Limited
Cephalon, Inc. and ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Limited jointly announced that Cephalon’s wholly-owned subsidiary, Cephalon CXS Holdings Pty Ltd, intends to make a takeover bid for ChemGenex. [ChemGenex Pharmaceuticals Limited Press Release]

Food and Drug Administration (United States)
 
Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research (United States)
 
European Medicines Agency (European Union)

Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency (United Kingdom)

Therapeutic Goods Administration (Australia)

NEW Duke Debates – Controversies in the Management of Patients with Hematologic Malignancies
April 29-May 1, 2011
Asheville, United States

NEW 2011 American Society of Clinical Oncology Annual Meeting
June 3-7, 2011
Chicago, United States

Visit our events page to see a complete list of events in the hematopoietic community.

Research Technologist – Pharmaceutical Sciences (St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital)

Postdoctoral Fellow or Research Associate (City University of New York)

Postdoctoral Fellow (New Jersey Medical School)

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