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Atsushi Manabe

Publications and source records attributed to Atsushi Manabe.

15 recordsLinked to original sources

The 21st International ``Ponte di Legno'' Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Workshop Report: Progress and Emerging Opportunities.

The 21st Ponte di Legno Working Group meeting convened in Orlando, USA, on December 4-5, 2025, bringing together leading childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) investigators from major global consortia. In response to the transformative advances in childhood ALL treatment, particularly the integration of immunotherapy into frontline therapy, the group revisited and updated its mission statement. The revised mission emphasizes collaborative studies on rare leukemia subsets, harmonized toxicity reporting, particularly for immunotherapy-related toxicities, and unrestricted worldwide collaboration. In addition, sharing data and strategies for integrating novel agents will be integral to optimizing future trial design. Key scientific topics included rare genetic subgroups, T-cell ALL genomics, treatment-related toxicity benchmarking, and central nervous system (CNS) disease management challenges. A major focus was immunotherapy integration into frontline therapy, particularly blinatumomab as an emerging standard of care and inotuzumab ozogamicin as an investigational agent, and their potential to enable chemotherapy de-escalation. Additional discussions addressed immunotherapy-specific toxicities. The integration of immunotherapy into frontline ALL therapy represents a paradigm shift with potential to improve outcomes while reducing treatment burden. However, careful attention to CNS disease control, emerging toxicities, and preservation of the remarkable achievements in childhood ALL therapy remains essential as the field advances.

Blinatumomab↗

Deregulation of FOXF1/FENDRR from t(14;16)(q32;q24) defines a subtype of high-risk lineage ambiguous leukemia.

Despite great progress in understanding the genomic basis of immature T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoblastic lymphoma (T-ALL) and acute leukemias of ambiguous lineage, there are still cases that lack defining genetic markers, complicating risk stratification, and limiting targeted therapeutic options. Recent studies have shown that enhancer hijacking drives oncogene activation in approximately half of T-ALL cases, with the BCL11B (BCL11 transcription factor B) enhancer frequently involved. Here, we describe a subtype of leukemia with a distinct gene-expression signature, and immunophenotype characterized by positivity for immature (CD38), myeloid (CD13), T-lymphoid (cytoplasmic [c]CD3, CD7), and B-lymphoid markers (CD19, CD79a, CD10). This subtype is defined by the t(14;16)(q32;q24) translocation, which places the FOXF1 gene and its antisense long noncoding RNA gene FENDRR under the regulatory control of the BCL11B enhancer, leading to their ectopic transcriptional activation. Common concomitant genetic lesions are loss-of-function alterations of GATA3, CDKN2A/CDKN2B deletion and activating JAK/STAT and NOTCH1 pathway mutations. Patients were predominantly children and adolescents/young adults and experienced poor treatment outcome. High-throughput drug screening of 176 compounds demonstrated efficacy of combined BCL2 apoptosis regulator family proteins and JAK/STAT signaling inhibitors. Additionally, the clinical use of tyrosine kinase inhibitors in some of these patients showed therapeutic efficacy. Collectively, these findings identify BCL11B-enhancer-mediated deregulation of FOXF1/FENDRR as a hallmark of a subtype of high-risk lineage ambiguous leukemia that is potentially amenable to targeted therapeutic intervention.

Humans↗

Development of diffuse large B cell lymphoma during the maintenance therapy for B-lineage acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Non-Hodgkin lymphoma (NHL) is a very rare complication of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). A Japanese boy presented with B-lineage ALL at the age of 2.5. He was treated with chemotherapy for standard-risk ALL. While he was receiving maintenance treatment 2 years and 9 months after the diagnosis of ALL, diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBL) was diagnosed from a biopsy of an abdominal mass. DLBL was treated by surgical resection followed by chemotherapy for 6 months. The patient has been free from the recurrence of ALL or DLBL for 16 months after the development of DLBL.

Child, Preschool↗

Irinotecan for children with relapsed solid tumors.

Irinotecan is expected to become a new drug for childhood solid tumors. Sixteen children with relapsed solid tumors received irinotecan 180 mg/m2/day for 3 consecutive days, repeated once after 25 days off. Their original tumors were neuroblastoma in 7, rhabdomyosarcoma in 3, nephroblastoma and undifferentiated sarcoma in 2 each, and primitive neuroectodermal tumor and leiomyosarcoma in 1 each. The average age at trials was 6 years. Partial response was achieved in 5 (31.3%) (neuro-blastoma, rhabdomyosarcoma, nephroblastoma, undifferentiated sarcoma, and leiomyosarcoma), and decrease in tumor marker in the other 2. Irinotecan appears promising, and could become included in the first-line treatment.

Camptothecin↗

No advantage of dexamethasone over prednisolone for the outcome of standard- and intermediate-risk childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the Tokyo Children's Cancer Study Group L95-14 protocol.

PURPOSE: To evaluate whether dexamethasone (DEXA) yields a better outcome than prednisolone (PRED) in a prospective, randomized, controlled trial for the treatment of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Two hundred thirty-one standard-risk (SR) patients and 128 intermediate-risk (IR) non-B-cell ALL patients were registered from March 1995 to March 1999. After random assignment in each group, the PRED arm patients received PRED 60 mg/m2 during induction followed by PRED 40 mg/m2 over four intensifications in the SR group and three intensifications in the IR group. DEXA arm patients received DEXA 8 mg/m2 during induction and DEXA 6 mg/m2 during the intensifications. The maintenance phase was continued until week 104. RESULTS: Event-free survival rates at 8 years in the DEXA and PRED arms were 81.1% +/- 3.9% (n = 117) and 84.4% +/- 5.2% (n = 114), respectively, in the SR group (P = .217) and 84.9% +/- 4.6% (n = 62) and 80.4% +/- 5.1% (n = 66), respectively, in the IR group (P = .625). The primary reason for treatment failure was marrow relapse. Only two extramedullary relapses occurred in the DEXA arm compared with seven relapses in the PRED arm. Although complications were more prevalent in the DEXA arm than in the PRED arm, fatal toxicity was rare both groups. CONCLUSION: DEXA administered at 8 mg/m2 during induction and 6 mg/m2 during intensification showed no advantage over PRED administered at 60 mg/m2 during induction and 40 mg/m2 during intensification in both the SR and IR groups.

Child↗

RAS-blocking bisphosphonate zoledronic acid inhibits the abnormal proliferation and differentiation of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia cells in vitro.

Juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) is a clonal myeloproliferative/myelodysplastic disorder of early childhood with a poor prognosis. JMML cells are characterized by hypersensitivity to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) caused by a continuously activated GM-CSF receptor-retrovirus-associated sequence (RAS) signal transduction pathway through various molecular mechanisms, resulting in spontaneous GM colony formation in vitro. Bisphosphonate zoledronic acid (ZOL), a RAS-blocking compound, suppressed colony formation from bone marrow (BM) cells of 8 patients with JMML and 5 healthy control subjects without and with GM-CSF (10 ng/mL), respectively, in a dose-dependent manner in clonal culture. At 10 microM ZOL, however, spontaneous GM colony formation from JMML BM cells decreased to 3%, but the formation of G colonies containing granulocytes, but no macrophages, was enhanced, whereas 40% of GM colonies were retained and G colony formation was not affected in culture of normal BM cells with GM-CSF. In suspension culture, cytochemical and flow cytometric analyses showed that 10 microM ZOL also inhibited spontaneous proliferation and differentiation along monocyte/macrophage lineage of JMML BM cells but not the development of normal BM cells by GM-CSF. The inhibitory effect of ZOL on JMML cells was confirmed at a single-clone level and observed even at 3 microM. The current result offers a novel approach to therapy in JMML.

Adolescent↗

Lysophosphatidylcholine posttranscriptionally inhibits interferon-gamma-induced IP-10, Mig and I-Tac expression in endothelial cells.

OBJECTIVE: Lysophosphatidylcholine (lysoPC) is abundant in atherosclerotic lesions and has potential immunomodulatory activities. This study is aimed to investigate effects of lysoPC on the interferon (IFN)-gamma-induced gene expression, focusing on T cell-directed CXC chemokines relevant to atherosclerosis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Effects of lysoPC on the IFN gamma-induced gene expression of IFN-inducible protein of 10 kDa (IP-10), IFN-inducible T cell alpha chemoattractant (I-Tac), and monokine induced by IFN gamma (Mig) were evaluated in cultured endothelial cells. Northern blotting showed that lysoPC transiently and dose-dependently inhibited the IFN gamma-induced accumulation of IP-10, Mig and I-Tac but not p48, interferon regulatory factor-1 and guanidine binding protein-1. Nuclear run-off assays showed that lysoPC did not inhibit IP-10, Mig and I-Tac gene transcription. An analysis of the degradation of IP-10, Mig and I-Tac mRNA revealed it to be enhanced by lysoPC. CONCLUSION: LysoPC selectively inhibits IFN gamma-induced IP-10, I-Tac and Mig expression in endothelial cells, at least in part, by reducing mRNA stability. Thus, lysoPC might regulate T cell-mediated immunity by affecting IFN gamma-mediated activation of endothelial cells in atherosclerotic lesions.

Arteriosclerosis↗

Methylation status of the p15 and p16 genes in paediatric myelodysplastic syndrome and juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia.

Aberrant DNA methylation is frequently observed in adults with myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), and is recognized as a critical event in the disease's pathogenesis and progression. This is the first report to investigate the methylation status of p15 and p16, cell cycle regulatory genes, in children with MDS (n = 9) and juvenile myelomonocytic leukaemia (JMML; n = 18) by using a methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction. The frequency of p15 hypermethylation in paediatric MDS was 78% (7/9), which was comparable to that in adult MDS. In contrast, p15 hypermethylation in JMML was a rare event (17%; 3/18). In JMML, clinical and laboratory characteristics including PTPN11 mutations and aberrant colony formation were not different between the three patients with hypermethylated p15 and the others. Aberrant methylation of p16 was not detected in children with either MDS or JMML. Since p15 and p16 genes were unmethylated in two children with JMML, in whom the disease had progressed with an increased number of blasts, a condition referred to as blastic crisis, we infer that the aberrant methylation of these genes is not responsible for the progression of JMML. The results suggest that demethylating agents may be effective in most children with MDS and a few patients with JMML.

Adolescent↗

Viral infections in juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia: prevalence and clinical implications.

OBJECTIVES: Viral infections may complicate the diagnosis of juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia (JMML) in a substantial proportion of patients, but this possibility has not been tested in a prospective study. The authors therefore measured the cellular expression of the MxA protein, a reliable marker of viral infection, at diagnosis in children with JMML to estimate the prevalence of such infections. METHODS: Eighteen children, aged 1 to 69 months, who met the diagnostic criteria of the International JMML Working Group were prospectively studied. MxA expression was assessed by flow cytometric analysis of peripheral blood mononuclear cells stained with an antihuman MxA antibody. All data were obtained through the MDS Committee of the Japanese Society of Pediatric Hematology. RESULTS: Twelve patients (67%) had elevated levels of the MxA protein, with rotavirus, RS virus, or CMV infection documented in three of these patients. Although none of the patients had primary Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infection, reactivation of the virus was strongly suspected in four children, including two with monosomy 7, each having increased levels of MxA. Southern blot analysis revealed monoclonal integration of the EBV genome into bone marrow mononuclear cells from one of these patients. There was no discernible correlation between increases in the marker protein and the presenting features or course of the disease. CONCLUSIONS: Viral infection may be present in two thirds of children with newly diagnosed JMML, but it does not constitute a basis for revising clinical management. The possibility that EBV or other viruses contribute to JMML pathogenesis by stimulating pre-exiting malignant clones warrants further investigation.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Three-dimensional sonographic features of placental abnormalities.

OBJECTIVE: To describe three-dimensional (3D) sonographic features of placental abnormalities in utero. METHODS: A total of 6 cases with placental abnormalities (1 chorioangioma, 1 subchorionic hematoma, 2 placental cysts, and 2 subplacental fibromas) from 22 to 34 weeks of gestation were studied with transabdominal 3D sonography. RESULTS: Placental abnormalities could be easily imaged with both two-dimensional (2D) and 3D sonography; however, visualization of the continuity and curvature of structures was more easily accomplished with 3D sonography. In the case with chorioangioma, the thick and rough surface of the tumor was clearly depicted. With the use of color Doppler ultrasound, only a case of chorioangioma was shown to have abundant blood flow within the tumor. In cases with placental cyst and subchorionic hematoma, the wall of the cyst becomes a transparent-like structure, so internal textures can be clearly identified. In the case with subplacental fibroma, the location in relation to the placenta was clearly recognized. CONCLUSION: These results suggest that 3D sonography has the potential to be a supplement to 2D sonography and color Doppler ultrasound in identifying placental masses and provides a novel means of visualizing placental abnormalities in utero.

Adult↗

Effects of sodium in hydration solution on plasma methotrexate concentrations following high-dose methotrexate in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

PURPOSE: To test whether a higher sodium dose in the hydration solution may facilitate faster methotrexate (MTX) elimination as compared with a lower sodium dose following high-dose MTX (HDMTX) treatment. METHODS: Intravenous solutions with alternate doses of sodium (regimen A 70 mEq/l, regimen B 100 mEq/l) were given to 30 children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia in two courses of HDMTX in a randomized crossover fashion. The plasma MTX concentrations every 24 h from the beginning of MTX administration and the adverse events associated with HDMTX were compared between the two hydration regimens. RESULTS: The plasma MTX concentrations were similar in the two hydration regimens at 24 h (A 50.9+/-7.4 vs B 40.9+/-5.4 microM, means+/- SE, P=0.17), but was significantly lower in regimen B at 48 and 72 h (A 0.65+/-0.17 vs B 0.27+/-0.03 microM, P=0.04; and A 0.14+/-0.03 vs B 0.05+/-0.01 microM, P=0.003). The time during which MTX plasma concentrations exceeded 0.1 microM was significantly longer in regimen A than in regimen B (A 3.83+/-0.18 vs B 3.13+/-0.06 days, P=0.001). The incidences of adverse events were similar between the two regimens ( P=0.78), and severe adverse events were not seen in either regimen. CONCLUSIONS: Hydration with a higher sodium dose facilitated faster MTX elimination following HDMTX. Sodium may have a beneficial effect on MTX-induced nephrotoxicity.

Adolescent↗

AML1/RUNX1 mutations are infrequent, but related to AML-M0, acquired trisomy 21, and leukemic transformation in pediatric hematologic malignancies.

AML1/RUNX1, located on chromosome band 21q22, is one of the most important hematopoietic transcription factors. AML1 is frequently affected in leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome with 21q22 translocations. Recently, AML1 mutations were found in adult hematologic malignancies, especially acute myeloid leukemia (AML)-M0 or leukemia with acquired trisomy 21, and familial platelet disorder with a predisposition toward AML. Through the use of polymerase chain reaction-single-strand conformation polymorphism analysis, we examined the AML1 gene for mutations in 241 patients with pediatric hematologic malignancies, and we detected AML1 mutations in seven patients (2.9%). Deletion was found in one patient, and point mutations in four patients, including three missense mutations, two silent mutations, and one mutation within an intron resulting in an abnormal splice acceptor site. All of the mutations except for one were heterozygous. Mutations within the runt domain were found in six of seven patients. Six of seven patients with AML1 mutations were diagnosed with AML, and one had acute lymphoblastic leukemia. In three of these seven patients, AML evolved from other hematologic disorders. AML1 mutations were found in two of four AML-M0 and two of three patients with acquired trisomy 21. Patients with AML1 mutations tended to be older children. Three of four patients with AML1 mutations who received stem cell transplantation (SCT) are alive, whereas the remaining three patients with mutations without SCT died. These results suggest that AML1 mutations in pediatric hematologic malignancies are infrequent, but are possibly related to AML-M0, acquired trisomy 21, and leukemic transformation. These patients may have a poor clinical outcome.

Adolescent↗

Third International Symposium on Myelodysplastic Syndromes in Childhood.

This article summarizes presentations from the Third International Symposium on Myelodysplastic Syndromes in Childhood, April 27-29, 2003, in Stresa, Italy. Topics included epidemiology, pathology, cytogenetics, molecular biology, pathophysiology, and treatment. Dr. Susanna Fenu was the Meeting Chair.

Antineoplastic Combined Chemotherapy Protocols↗

Reconstitution of human haematopoiesis in non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient mice by clonal cells expanded from single CD34+CD38- cells expressing Flk2/Flt3.

In the present study, we examined the expression of Flk2/Flt3, a tyrosine kinase receptor, on human cord blood CD34+ haematopoietic progenitor/stem cells. In flow cytometric analysis, Flk2/Flt3 was expressed on 80% of CD34+ cells and their immature subpopulations, CD34+CD33- and CD34+CD38- cells. Methycellulose clonal culture of sorted CD34+Flk2/Flt3+ and CD34+Flk2/Flt3- cells showed that most of myelocytic progenitors expressed Flk2/Flt3, but erythroid and haematopoietic multipotential progenitors were shared by both fractions. When 1 x 10(4) lineage marker-negative (Lin-)CD34+Flk2/Flt3- cells were transplanted into non-obese diabetic/severe combined immunodeficient (NOD/SCID) mice, none of the recipients possessed human CD45+ cells in bone marrow 11-12 weeks after the transplantation. In contrast, all recipients transplanted with 1 x 10(4) Lin-CD34+Flk2/Flt3+ cells showed successful engraftment. Furthermore, clonal cells expanded from single Lin-CD34+CD38-Flk2/Flt3+ cells in the culture with Flk2/Flt3 ligand, stem cell factor, thrombopoietin, and a complex of interleukin 6/soluble interleukin 6 receptor were individually transplanted into NOD/SCID mice. At 20 to 21 weeks after the transplantation, three out of 10 clones harvested at d 7 of culture, and three out of six clones at d 14 could reconstitute human haematopoiesis in recipient marrow. These results demonstrated that Flk2/Flt3 was expressed on a wide variety of human haematopoietic cells including long-term-repopulating haematopoietic stem cells.

Animals↗