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J Boultwood

Publications and source records attributed to J Boultwood.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2006

hTERT, the catalytic component of telomerase, is downregulated in the haematopoietic stem cells of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia.

Telomere shortening is associated with disease progression in chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML). To investigate the biology and regulation of telomerase in CML, we evaluated expression of the telomerase components, its regulators and several telomeric-associated proteins. Quantitative real-time-polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to compare gene expression in the CD34+/leukaemic blast cells of 22 CML patient samples to the CD34+ cell population of healthy individuals. hTERT, the catalytic component of telomerase, was downregulated in eight of 12 chronic phase (CP) patients (P = 0.0387). Furthermore, hTERT was significantly downregulated in two of three patients in accelerated phase (AP) and seven of seven patients in blast crisis (BC), P = 0.0017. Expression of hTR and telomeric-associated proteins TEP1, TRF1, TRF2, tankyrase and PinX1 was high in the majority of CP and AP patients. With the exceptions of TEP1 and hTR, expression of these factors was highest in CP and decreased during disease progression. Expression of c-Myc, a positive regulator of hTERT transcription, correlated with hTERT expression and decreased with disease progression, falling below control levels in BC. hTERT levels were increased in CP patients following successful treatment with imatinib, relative to untreated CP patients. We suggest that reduced hTERT expression directly causes the shortened telomeres observed in CML.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2004

The 5q- syndrome.

The 5q- syndrome is a distinct hematological disorder with typical laboratory, morphological, cytogenetic, molecular, and prognostic features. It is defined as a myelodysplastic syndrome with a medullary blast count <5% and an isolated interstitial deletion of the long arm of chromosome 5, including bands q31-q33. The molecular basis of this disease has not yet been fully elucidated, but there is evidence that a commonly deleted region of 1.5 Mb harbors one or several tumor suppressor genes, the loss of which being the basic event leading to disease activity. The 5q- deletion has been demonstrated in very early hematopoietic precursors, including CD34+CD133+ and CD34+CD38-Thyl+ cells. Analysing data of 60 patients with the 5q- syndrome that were followed over a period of up to 28 years, we found a median age at diagnosis of 66.8 years and a female preponderance with a male to female ratio of 1:1.5. Anemia is usually macrocytic and combined with low reticulocyte counts and high erythropoetin levels. Three types of cytogenetic deletion are most prevalent: del(5)(q13q33), del(5)(q13q31) and del(5)(q22q33). The 5q- syndrome has a good prognosis with a median overall survival of 107 months at a median follow-up of 53 months, and a low probability of transformation to AML. An increase of the medullary blast count to > or =5% or the addition of one karyotypic anomaly severely reduces median overall survival. The most promising therapeutic approach is the novel thalidomide analogue CC5013 that is currently evaluated in an international phase II study.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2001

A novel gene, NSD1, is fused to NUP98 in the t(5;11)(q35;p15.5) in de novo childhood acute myeloid leukemia.

The recurrent translocation t(5;11)(q35;p15.5) associated with a 5q deletion, del(5q), has been reported in childhood acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We report the cloning of the translocation breakpoints in de novo childhood AML harboring a cryptic t(5;11)(q35;p15.5). Fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis demonstrated that the nucleoporin gene (NUP98) at 11p15.5 was disrupted by this translocation. By using 3'--rapid amplification of complementary DNA ends (3'-RACE) polymerase chain reaction, we identified a chimeric messenger RNA that results in the in-frame fusion of NUP98 to a novel gene, NSD1. The NSD1 gene has 2596 amino acid residues and a 85% homology to the murine Nsd1 with the domain structure being conserved. The NSD1 gene was localized to 5q35 by FISH and is widely expressed. The reciprocal transcript, NSD1-NUP98, was also detected by reverse transcriptase--polymerase chain reaction. This is the first report in which the novel gene NSD1 has been implicated in human malignancy. (Blood. 2001;98:1264-1267)

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2001

Ataxia telangiectasia gene mutations in leukaemia and lymphoma.

Ataxia telangiectasia (AT) is a rare multisystem, autosomal, recessive disease characterised by neuronal degeneration, genome instability, and an increased risk of cancer. Approximately 10% of AT homozygotes develop cancer, mostly of the lymphoid system. Lymphoid malignancies in patients with AT are of both B cell and T cell origin, and include Hodgkin's lymphoma, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, and several forms of leukaemia. The AT locus was mapped to the chromosomal region 11q22-23 using genetic linkage analysis in the late 1980s and the causative gene was identified by positional cloning several years later. The ATM gene encodes a large protein that belongs to a family of kinases possessing a highly conserved C-terminal kinase domain related to the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase domain. Members of this kinase family have been shown to function in DNA repair and cell cycle checkpoint control following DNA damage. Recent studies indicate that ATM is activated primarily in response to double strand breaks and may be considered a caretaker of the genome. Most mutations in ATM result in truncation and destabilisation of the protein, but certain missense and splicing errors have been shown to produce a less severe phenotype. AT heterozygotes have a slightly increased risk of breast cancer. Atm deficient mice exhibit many of the symptoms found in patients with AT and have a high frequency of thymic lymphoma. The association between mutation of the ATM gene and a high incidence of lymphoid malignancy in patients with AT, together with the development of lymphoma in Atm deficient mice, supports the proposal that inactivation of the ATM gene may be of importance in the pathogenesis of sporadic lymphoid malignancy. Loss of heterozygosity at 11q22-23 (the location of the ATM gene) is a common event in lymphoid malignancy. Frequent inactivating mutations of the ATM gene have been reported in patients with rare sporadic T cell prolymphocytic leukaemia (T-PLL), B cell chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (B-CLL), and most recently, mantle cell lymphoma (MCL). In contrast to the ATM mutation pattern in AT, the most frequent nucleotide changes in these sporadic lymphoid malignancies were missense mutations. The presence of inactivating mutations, together with the deletion of the normal copy of the ATM gene in some patients with T-PLL, B-CLL, and MCL, establishes somatic inactivation of the ATM gene in the pathogenesis of lymphoid malignancies, and strongly suggests that ATM functions as a tumour suppressor. The presence of missense mutations in the germline of patients with B-CLL has been reported, suggesting that some patients with B-CLL may be constitutional AT heterozygotes. The putative hereditary predisposition of B-CLL, although intriguing, warrants further investigation.

Animals↗
PubMed2000

Telomere length shortening in chronic myelogenous leukemia is associated with reduced time to accelerated phase.

Telomere shortening is associated with disease evolution in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). We have examined the relationship between diagnostic telomere length and outcome in 59 patients with CML who entered into the MRC CMLIII Trial by Southern blot hybridization using the (TTAGGG)(4) probe. Age-adjusted telomere repeat array (TRA) reduction was found to significantly correlate with time from diagnosis to acceleration, such that patients with a larger TRA reduction entered the accelerated phase more rapidly (r = -0.50; P =.008). Cox-regression analysis for this group was suggestive of a relationship between a greater TRA-reduction and a shorter time to acceleration (P =.054). Age-adjusted TRA reduction did not significantly affect either the time to blast crisis or overall survival. Our results show that telomere shortening observed at the time of diagnosis in CML significantly influences the time to progress to the accelerated phase. The measurement of diagnostic TRA may prove to be clinically important in the selection of patients at high risk of disease transformation in CML.

Age Factors↗
PubMed2000

Transcription mapping of the 5q- syndrome critical region: cloning of two novel genes and sequencing, expression, and mapping of a further six novel cDNAs.

The 5q- syndrome is a myelodysplastic syndrome with the 5q deletion ¿del(5q) as the sole karyotypic abnormality. We are using the expressed sequence tag (EST) resource as our primary approach to identifying novel candidate genes for the 5q- syndrome. Seventeen ESTs were identified from the Human Gene Map at the National Center for Biotechnology Information that had no significant homology to any known genes and were assigned between DNA markers D5S413 and D5S487, flanking the critical region of the 5q- syndrome at 5q31-q32. Eleven of the 17 cDNAs from which the ESTs were derived (65%) were shown to map to the critical region of the 5q- syndrome by gene dosage analysis and were then sublocalized by PCR screening to a YAC contig encompassing the critical region. Eight of the 11 cDNA clones, upon full sequencing, had no significant homology to any known genes. Each of the 8 cDNA clones was shown to be expressed in human bone marrow. The complete coding sequence was obtained for 2 of the novel genes, termed C5orf3 and C5orf4. The 2.6-kb transcript of C5orf3 encodes a putative 505-amino-acid protein and contains an ATP/GTP-binding site motif A (P loop), suggesting that this novel gene encodes an ATP- or a GTP-binding protein. The novel gene C5orf4 has a transcript of 3.1 kb, encoding a putative 144-amino-acid protein. We describe the cloning of 2 novel human genes and the sequencing, expression patterns, and mapping to the critical region of the 5q- syndrome of a further 6 novel cDNA clones. Genomic localization and expression patterns would suggest that the 8 novel cDNAs described in this report represent potential candidate genes for the 5q- syndrome.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Combined immunophenotyping and FISH identifies the involvement of B-cells in 5q- syndrome.

The 5q- syndrome is a distinct subtype of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) characterized by refractory anemia, deletion of the long arm of chromosome 5, del(5q), as the sole cytogenetic abnormality, and a low frequency of transformation to acute leukemia. Using combined immunophenotyping and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH), studies were carried out on bone marrow smears of three 5q- syndrome cases to identify the cell lineages carrying the 5q deletion. In all three cases, the granulocytic, monocytic, and erythroid lineages possessed the del(5q) clonal marker, whereas the T-lymphocytes did not. Interestingly, in one case, cells of B-lymphoid lineage also showed the presence of the del(5q). This is the first report to date showing involvement of an acquired 5q deletion associated with MDS in B-cells. This result suggests that in some cases, MDS arises in a multipotent cell with a capacity to differentiate into both myeloid and lymphoid cells.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Physical mapping of the human ATX1 homologue (HAH1) to the critical region of the 5q- syndrome within 5q32, and immediately adjacent to the SPARC gene.

The 5q- syndrome is a myelodysplastic syndrome with the 5q deletion as the sole karyotypic abnormality. The human ATX1 homologue (HAH1), encodes a copper-binding protein with a role in antioxidant defence. We have mapped this gene to the 3 Mb critical region of gene loss of the 5q- syndrome within 5q32, flanked by the genes for ADRB2 and IL12B, using gene dosage analysis. Fine physical mapping of the HAH1 gene within this genomic interval was then performed by screening YAC and BAC contigs spanning the critical region of the 5q- syndrome using PCR amplification. The HAH1 gene maps immediately adjacent to the SPARC gene at 5q32, and is flanked by the genetic markers D5S1838 and D5S1419. The HAH1 gene is expressed in haematological tissues and plays a role in antioxidant defence. Antioxidant levels are low in most cancers and the importance of antioxidant enzymes in cancer genesis is well recognised. Genomic localisation, function and expression would suggest that the HAH1 gene represents a candidate gene for the 5q-syndrome.

Carrier Proteins↗
PubMed1999

A new recurrent translocation, t(5;11)(q35;p15.5), associated with del(5q) in childhood acute myeloid leukemia. The UK Cancer Cytogenetics Group (UKCCG)

Partial deletion of the long arm of chromosome 5, del(5q), is the cytogenetic hallmark of the 5q-syndrome, a distinct subtype of myelodysplastic syndrome-refractory anemia (MDS-RA). Deletions of 5q also occur in the full spectrum of other de novo and therapy-related MDS and acute myeloid leukemia (AML) types, most often in association with other chromosome abnormalities. However, the loss of genetic material from 5q is believed to be of primary importance in the pathogenesis of all del(5q) disorders. In the present study, we performed fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) studies using a chromosome 5-specific whole chromosome painting probe and a 5q subtelomeric probe to determine the incidence of cryptic translocations. We studied archival fixed chromosome suspensions from 36 patients with myeloid disorders (predominantly MDS and AML) and del(5q) as the sole abnormality. In 3 AML patients studied, this identified a translocation of 5q subtelomeric sequences from the del(5q) to the short arm of an apparently normal chromosome 11. FISH with chromosome 11-specific subtelomeric probes confirmed the presence of 11p on the shortened 5q. Further FISH mapping confirmed that the 5q and 11p translocation breakpoints were the same in all 3 cases, between the nucleophosmin (NPM1) and fms-related tyrosine kinase 4 (FLT4) genes on 5q35 and the Harvey ras-1-related gene complex (HRC) and the radixin pseudogene (RDPX1) on 11p15.5. Importantly, all 3 patients with the cryptic t(5;11) were children: a total of 3 of 4 AML children studied. Two were classified as AML-M2 and the third was classified as M4. All 3 responded poorly to treatment and had short survival times, ranging from 10 to 18 months. Although del(5q) is rare in childhood AML, this study indicates that, within this subgroup, the incidence of cryptic t(5;11) may be high. It is significant that none of the 24 MDS patients studied, including 11 confirmed as having 5q-syndrome, had the translocation. Therefore, this appears to be a new nonrandom chromosomal translocation, specifically associated with childhood AML with a differentiated blast cell phenotype and the presence of a del(5q).

Adult↗
PubMed1999

Telomere length shortening is associated with disease evolution in chronic myelogenous leukemia.

We studied telomere length in the peripheral blood leukocyte samples of a large group of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) by Southern blot hybridization using the (TTAGGG)4 probe. The average telomere length expressed as the peak telomere repeat array (TRA) of the peripheral blood samples obtained from a group of 34 healthy age-matched controls ranged between 7.6 and 10.0 kb and the mean peak TRA was 8.7 kb. Forty-one patients in the chronic phase of CML were studied; 32/41 (78%) showed telomere reduction (<7.6 kb) relative to age-matched controls and the mean peak TRA was 6.4 kb (range 4.0-10.6 kb). Serial samples were analysed from 12 patients at both chronic phase and during disease progression. The leukocyte DNA of all 12 patients in accelerated phase and/or blast crisis showed telomere reduction relative to age-matched controls and the mean peak TRA was 4.1 kb (range 3.0-5.4 kb). The peak TRA in the accelerated or blast phase was reduced compared with the corresponding paired sample in the chronic phase in all cases studied. These data show that a marked reduction in telomere length is associated with disease progression in CML.

Adult↗
PubMed1998

Molecular cytogenetic delineation of the critical deleted region in the 5q- syndrome.

The 5q- syndrome is a distinct type of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) characterised by refractory anaemia, morphological abnormalities of megakaryocytes, and del(5q) as the sole cytogenetic abnormality. In contrast to patients with therapy-related MDS with 5q deletions, 5q- syndrome patients have a favourable prognosis and a low rate of transformation to acute leukaemia. We have previously delineated a common deleted region of 5.6 Mb between the gene for fibroblast growth factor acidic (FGF1) and the subunit of interleukin 12 (IL12B) in two patients with 5q- syndrome and small deletions, del(5)(q31q33). The present study used fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) analysis of these and a third 5q- syndrome patient with a small deletion, del(5)(q33q34), to refine further the critical deleted region. This resulted in the narrowing of the common deleted region within 5q31.3-5q33 to approximately 3 Mb, flanked by the adrenergic receptor beta 2 (ADRB2) and IL/2B genes. The common region of loss in these three 5q- syndrome patients includes the macrophage colony-stimulating factor-1 receptor (CSF1R), secreted protein, acidic, cysteine-rich (SPARC), and glutamate receptor (GR1A1) genes. This 5q- syndrome critical region is telomeric to and distinct from the other critical regions on 5q associated with MDS and acute myeloid leukaemia.

Adult↗
PubMed1997

Novel genes mapping to the critical region of the 5q- syndrome.

The 5q- syndrome is a myelodysplastic syndrome with specific hematological features and a good prognosis. Using molecular mapping techniques, we have previously defined the critical region of gene loss of the 5q- chromosome in the 5q- syndrome as the approximately 5-Mb region at 5q31-q33 flanked by the genes for FGF1 and IL12B. This region is completely represented by a series of overlapping YACs, and we are currently generating a transcription map with the aim of identifying the tumor-suppressor gene associated with the development of the 5q- syndrome. In this study two techniques have been used: first, the screening of full-length cDNA libraries with radiolabeled YACs and second, the mapping of chromosome 5-specific expressed sequence tags (ESTs) to a YAC contig. A 1-Mb YAC contig encompassing the CSF1R gene has been used to screen a fetal brain cDNA library, and this has resulted in the identification of two genes comprising one known gene previously localized to the region (ADRB2) and one known gene previously unlocalized. Six of 135 chromosome 5-specific ESTs were localized by PCR screening to the YAC contig mapping to the critical region of the 5q- syndrome. IMAGE cDNA clones for each of the six ESTs have been obtained. These seven (excluding ADRB2) newly assigned cDNA clones were subjected to further analysis. The expression patterns of each of the cDNA clones have been established in a range of human tissues, including bone marrow. Six of seven cDNAs are expressed in human bone marrow. Six of seven cDNAs have no known homology to any deposited human sequences, and one (C29) is dihydropyrimidinase-related protein-3, a member of a novel gene family. Genomic localization and expression patterns would suggest that these newly assigned cDNAs represent potential candidate genes for the 5q- syndrome.

Chromosome Deletion↗