Hematopoiesis News Volume 2.23 | Jun 14 2011

Decoding Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
A paper identified new gene mutations in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. [Press release from ScienceDaily discussing online prepublication in the Journal of Experimental Medicine]

Molecular Biologists Discover the Cause of a Rare Type of Leukemia
Scientists present groundbreaking news on the cause of hairy cell leukemia. [Press release from European Hematology Association discussing research presented at the 16th Congress of the European Hematology Association]

Study Demonstrates Micromet’s Blinatumomab Produces High Single-Agent Activity in Patients with Relapsed Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia
Data showed that Micromet’s blinatumomab produced a high complete remission rate in adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia who had relapsed following treatment with standard therapy. [Press release from Micromet Inc. discussing research presented at the 16th Congress of the European Hematology Association]

LABORATORY RESEARCH

A Somitic Wnt16/Notch Pathway Specifies Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Scientists demonstrated in zebrafish that Wnt16 controls a novel genetic regulatory network required for hematopoietic stem cells specification. [Nature]

In Vivo Imaging of T_reg Cells Providing Immune Privilege to the Hematopoietic Stem-Cell Niche
Researchers sought to determine if somatic stem-cell niches more broadly are immune-privileged sites by examining the hematopoietic stem/progenitor cell niche in the bone marrow. [Nature]

Loss or Inhibition of Stromal-Derived PlGF Prolongs Survival of Mice with Imatinib-Resistant Bcr-Abl1⁺ Leukemia
Investigators reported that PlGF levels are elevated in chronic myeloid leukemia and that PlGF produced by bone marrow stromal cells aggravates disease severity. [Cancer Cell]

Analysis of the Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Coding Genome: Role of NOTCH1 Mutational Activation
By combining next-generation sequencing and copy number analysis, scientists showed that the typical chronic lymphocytic leukemia coding genome contains less than 20 clonally represented gene alterations/case, including predominantly nonsilent mutations, and fewer copy number aberrations. [J Exp Med]

GATA3 Is Redundant for Maintenance and Self-Renewal of Hematopoietic Stem Cells
Scientists used a conditional Gata3 knockout strategy in which Gata3 expression was completely deleted from the earliest stage of embryonic hematopoietic development after emergence of hematopoietic stem cells from hemogenic endothelium. [Blood]

PR Domain-Containing Mds1-Evi1 Is Critical for Long-Term Hematopoietic Stem Cells Function
To investigate the role of the upstream transcription start site of Mecom in adult hematopoiesis, researchers created a mouse model with a lacZ knock-in at this site, termed ME^m1, which eliminates Mds1-Evi1 (ME), the longer, PR domain-containing isoforms produced by the gene. [Blood]

Hypoxic Induction of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Regulates Murine Hematopoietic Stem Cell Function in the Low-Oxygenic Niche
Scientists hypothesized that a hypoxic hematopoietic stem cell (HSC) microenvironment is required for maintenance or upregulation of Vegfa expression in HSCs and therefore crucial for HSC survival. [Blood]

A Critical Role for SHP2 in STAT5 Activation and Growth Factor Mediated Proliferation, Survival and Differentiation of Human CD34+ Cells
Researchers used shRNA-mediated inhibition of SHP2 expression to investigate the function of SHP2 in growth factor signaling in normal human CD34⁺ cells. [Blood]

Analysis of Glycoprotein E-Selectin Ligands on Human and Mouse Marrow Cells Enriched for Hematopoietic Stem/Progenitor Cells
The data defined the key glycoprotein E-selectin ligands of human and mouse hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells, unveiling critical species-intrinsic differences in both the identity and activity of these structures. [Blood]

Atypical Protein Kinase C (aPKCζ and aPKCλ) Is Dispensable for Mammalian Hematopoietic Stem Cell Activity and Blood Formation
Investigators report that, in contrast to accepted paradigms, polarization and activity of adult hematopoietic stem cells do not depend on either aPKCζ or aPKCλ or both in vivo. [Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A]

CLINICAL RESEARCH

Incidence and Prognostic Influence of DNMT3A Mutations in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
The purpose of this study was to study the incidence and prognostic impact of mutations in DNA methyltransferase 3A (DNMT3A) in patients with acute myeloid leukemia. [J Clin Oncol]

Cyclophosphamide, Fludarabine, Rituximab and Alemtuzumab As Salvage Therapy for Heavily Pre-Treated Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia
Researchers report the outcome for 80 relapsed or refractory patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia enrolled in a phase II study of cyclophosphamide, fludarabine, alemtuzumab and rituximab. [Blood]

Long-Term Outcome and Lineage-Specific Chimerism in 194 Wiskott-Aldrich Syndrome Patients Treated by Hematopoietic Cell Transplantation Between 1980–2009: An International Collaborative Study
In this retrospective collaborative study, investigators have analyzed long-term outcome and donor cell engraftment in 194 patients with the Wiskott-Aldrich syndrome who have been treated by hematopoietic cell transplantation in the period 1980-2009. [Blood]

Millennium and Seattle Genetics Present Clinical Data on ADCETRIS™ (Brentuximab Vedotin) in Hodgkin Lymphoma
Millennium: The Takeda Oncology Company and Seattle Genetics, Inc. announced that data on ADCETRIS™ (brentuximab vedotin) in relapsed or refractory Hodgkin lymphoma patients were featured in an oral presentation. [Seattle Genetics, Inc. Press Release]

Interim Data from Phase II Trial of AC220 Monotherapy in Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia with FLT3-ITD Activating Mutations
Ambit Biosciences Corporation and Astellas Pharma Inc. announced results from a planned interim analysis in an ongoing Phase II study evaluating AC220, a potent and selective FMS-like tyrosine kinase-3 (FLT3) inhibitor. [Ambit Biosciences Corporation Press Release]

EHA Awards 2011 At The 16th Congress of EHA in London
At the 16th Congress of European Hematology Association (EHA), the EHA Jean Bernard Lifetime Achievement Award was handed to Professor Bob Löwenberg and the EHA José Carreras Award to Professor Douglas Higgs. [European Hematology Association Press Release]

Arteriocyte and the US Army Institute of Surgical Research Sign a CRADA to Speed Development of Cellular Therapies for Orthopedic Trauma
Arteriocyte® announced that they have entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the United States Army Institute of Surgical Research. [Arteriocyte® Press Release]

The Jackson Laboratory Partners with NCI, UC Davis to Speed New Cancer Treatments to Clinical Trials
The partnership brings together The University of California (UC) Davis Cancer Center, The Jackson Laboratory and the National Cancer Institute’s (NCI) Center for Advanced Preclinical Research, all under the umbrella of NCI’s Advanced Technology Partnerships Initiative. [The Jackson Laboratory Press Release]

The New York Stem Cell Foundation Awards Fellowships to Seven Innovative Stem Cell Scientists
The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) announced the appointment of seven new NYSCF-Druckenmiller Fellows, who are conducting groundbreaking research in the stem cell field. [New York Stem Cell Foundation Press Release]

Five Top Scientists to Receive DeBakey Research Awards
Five distinguished Baylor College of Medicine scientists will receive the annual Michael E. DeBakey, M.D., Excellence in Research Awards. [Baylor College of Medicine Press Release]

New Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia Guidelines for Patients Available from NCCN
The National Comprehensive Cancer Network (NCCN) has released the NCCN Patient Guidelines for Chronic Myelogenous Leukemia, available free of charge on NCCN.com. [National Comprehensive Cancer Network, United States]

National Institutes of Health (United States)

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 2011 World Stem Cell Summit
October 3-5, 2011
Pasadena, United States

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