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S Schnittger

Publications and source records attributed to S Schnittger.

At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2004

Pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) gene expression signatures classify an independent cohort of adult ALL patients.

Recent reports support a possible future application of gene expression profiling for the diagnosis of leukemias. However, the robustness of subtype-specific gene expression signatures has to be proven on independent patient samples. Here, we present gene expression data of 34 adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients (Affymetrix U133A microarrays). Support Vector Machines (SVMs) were applied to stratify our samples based on given gene lists reported to predict MLL, BCR-ABL, and T-ALL, as well as MLL and non-MLL gene rearrangement positive pediatric ALL. In addition, seven other B-precursor ALL cases not bearing t(9;22) or t(11q23)/MLL chromosomal aberrations were analyzed. Using top differentially expressed genes, hierarchical cluster and principal component analyses demonstrate that the genetically more heterogeneous B-precursor ALL samples intercalate with BCR-ABL-positive cases, but were clearly distinct from T-ALL and MLL profiles. Similar expression signatures were observed for both heterogeneous B-precursor ALL and for BCR-ABL-positive cases. As an unrelated laboratory, we demonstrate that gene signatures defined for childhood ALL were also capable of stratifying distinct subtypes in our cohort of adult ALL patients. As such, previously reported gene expression patterns identified by microarray technology are validated and confirmed on truly independent leukemia patient samples.

Adult↗
PubMed2004

Karyotype is an independent prognostic parameter in therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML): an analysis of 93 patients with t-AML in comparison to 1091 patients with de novo AML.

The aim of this study was to compare the pattern of karyotype abnormalities of therapy-related acute myeloid leukemia (t-AML) (n=93) with de novo AML (n=1091), and to evaluate their impact on prognosis. Favorable, intermediate, and unfavorable cytogenetics were observed in 25.8, 28.0, and 46.2% of t-AML, and in 22.2, 57.3, and 20.4% of de novo AML. The median overall survival (OS) was shorter in t-AML than in de novo AML (10 vs 15 months, P=0.0007). Favorable and unfavorable cytogenetics had a prognostic impact with respect to OS in both t-AML (P=0.001 and 0.0001) and de novo AML (P<0.0001 and <0.0001). To define the overall prognostic impact of cytogenetics and t-AML, a multivariate Cox's regression analysis was performed for OS with favorable cytogenetics, unfavorable cytogenetics, t-AML, age, and white blood cell (WBC) count as covariates. All parameters proved to be independently related to OS (P=0.001 for t-AML, P<0.0001 for all other parameters). Within patients with t-AML, there were significant correlations between OS and both unfavorable (P<0.0001) and favorable cytogenetics (P=0.001), while age and WBC count had no impact on OS. In conclusion, these data indicate that cytogenetics are an important prognostic parameter in t-AML. Furthermore, t-AML is an unfavorable factor independent of cytogenetics with respect to survival.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2003

Myelodysplastic syndrome (RARS) with +i(12p) abnormality in a patient 10 months after diagnosis and successful treatment of a mediastinal germ cell tumor (MGCT).

We report on a 21-year-old man with a mediastinal germ cell tumor (MGCT) who developed a myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) (refractory anemia with ringed sideroblasts, RARS) 10 months after the start of successful treatment with cisplatin, etoposide, ifosfamide, and paclitaxel. A very rare early occurrence of a therapy-related MDS was suspected. Cytogenetic analysis of the bone marrow revealed an aberrant karyotype, showing a deletion in 12p, an isochromosome 5p, as well as gain of an isochromosome 12p. Isochromosome 12p is a specific aberration frequently observed in MGCT. It also was described in patients who developed hematological transformation of a mediastinal germ cell tumor. In this report the association between mediastinal germ cell tumors and hematological malignancies including the possibility of a common genetic origin is discussed.

Adult↗
PubMed2002

Comparison of chromosome banding analysis, interphase- and hypermetaphase-FISH, qualitative and quantitative PCR for diagnosis and for follow-up in chronic myeloid leukemia: a study on 350 cases.

For the diagnosis of CML and for monitoring of treatment response the detection of the t(9;22)(q34;q11) or the BCR-ABL rearrangement is necessary. Chromosome banding analysis (CA) is still the gold standard but other techniques like Southern blot, fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) are available. We analyzed 350 CML patients at different stages of disease in parallel with CA, interphase-FISH (IP-FISH), hypermetaphase-FISH (HM-FISH) and RT-PCR. In 20 cases with no Ph(+) metaphases in CA, HM-FISH detected 0.2 to 10% BCR-ABL(+)metaphases. After IP-FISH 107 samples were judged as negative. However, in 17 of these samples HM-FISH detected BCR-ABL(+) metaphases (0.3-11%), and in eight cases CA detected Ph(+) metaphases (2.5-25%). A comparison of IP-FISH performed on uncultivated cells vs cells cultivated for 48 h in 70 cases revealed a higher proportion of BCR-ABL+ cells in the cultivated samples. If nested PCR was negative, all other methods were negative in all cases too. In addition, 94 cases were evaluated using real-time PCR (LightCycler technology). The BCR-ABL/cABL ratio measured showed a high correlation with all other methods. Interestingly, a wide range in the BCR-ABL/ABL ratio was observed especially in patients who showed 100% Ph-positive metaphases in CA. In conclusion, CA, IP-FISH, HM-FISH and real-time PCR give reliable results but differences due to measurement of different target structures have to be kept in mind when using these data for definition of remission status.

B-Lymphocytes↗
PubMed2002

Karyotype instability between diagnosis and relapse in 117 patients with acute myeloid leukemia: implications for resistance against therapy.

The instability of the karyotype may play a role in the development of refractoriness of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) to anti-leukemic therapy. Therefore, in the current study cytogenetic analyses were performed in 117 patients with AML both at diagnosis and at relapse. Changes in karyotype were observed in 38% (36% of initially normal karyotypes, 39% of initially aberrant karyotypes). An evolution of karyotype, ie the acquisition of further aberrations in addition to those present at diagnosis, occurred more frequently in patients with unfavorable karyotypes at diagnosis as compared to all others (60% vs 32%, P = 0.0095). The duration from initial diagnosis to relapse was significantly shorter in cases with an evolution of the aberrant karyotype as compared to cases with no changes in the aberrant karyotype between diagnosis and relapse or with solely regression of aberrations at relapse (9.2 +/- 4.4 vs14.0 +/- 8.5 months, P = 0.0081). In an additional analysis, another cohort of 120 patients with refractory and relapsed AML who were treated uniformly within the respective trial of the German AML Cooperative Group was analyzed cytogenetically at diagnosis and at relapse to further prove the prognostic impact of karyotype aberrations at relapse. Karyotypes were prognostically favorable, intermediate, unfavorable and not available in 8%, 50%, 17% and 25% at diagnosis and in 8%, 49%, 21% and 22% at relapse, respectively. Karyotype aberrations at diagnosis had no impact on response to therapy (P = 0.32) but influenced survival and event-free survival significantly (P = 0.03 and P = 0.02). In contrast, karyotype aberrations at relapse strongly influenced response to therapy (P = 0.05), survival (P = 0.01), and event-free survival (P = 0.002). These data suggest that the instability of the karyotype between diagnosis and relapse and thus karyotype aberrations at relapse in particular contribute to the refractoriness of AML to anti-leukemic therapy.

Acute Disease↗
PubMed2001

Gain of an isochromosome 5p: a new recurrent chromosome abnormality in acute monoblastic leukemia.

In acute myeloid leukemia (AML) close associations are known between cytomorphology and cytogenetics such as in AML M3/M3v showing a t(15;17) and in AML M4eo associated with inv(16)/t(16;16). In AML M5 a heterogenous cytogenetic pattern is observed. We describe the gain of an isochromosome of the short arm of chromosome 5 together with the gain of chromosome 8 as the sole abnormalities in two cases of acute monoblastic leukemia. In a third case of acute monoblastic leukemia we also observed the gain of an isochromosome 5p together with trisomy 8. This patient showed in addition an unbalanced translocation between the long arm of chromosome 1 and the short arm of chromosome 14 leading to a trisomy 1q. So far only two cases of AML with i(5)(p10) have been published. In no other hematological malignancy has an isochromosome 5p been reported up to now. As an isochromosome 5p can be misinterpreted as a deletion 5q, which occurs frequently in AML, fluorescence in situ hybridization with loci specific probes is a helpful method to detect this rare abnormality.

Adult↗
PubMed2001

Dominant-negative mutations of CEBPA, encoding CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-alpha (C/EBPalpha), in acute myeloid leukemia.

The transcription factor C/EBPalpha (for CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-alpha; encoded by the gene CEBPA) is crucial for the differentiation of granulocytes. Conditional expression of C/EBPalpha triggers neutrophilic differentiation, and no mature granulocytes are observed in Cebpa-mutant mice. Here we identify heterozygous mutations in CEBPA in ten patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). We found that five mutations in the amino terminus truncate the full-length protein, but did not affect a 30-kD protein initiated further downstream. The mutant proteins block wild-type C/EBPalpha DNA binding and transactivation of granulocyte target genes in a dominant-negative manner, and fails to induce granulocytic differentiation. Ours is the first report of CEBPA mutations in human neoplasia, and such mutations are likely to induce the differentiation block found in AML.

Base Sequence↗
PubMed2001

Impact of CD133 (AC133) and CD90 expression analysis for acute leukemia immunophenotyping.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: AC133 is a novel monoclonal antibody (Moab) reacting with a population of immature/primitive or granulo-monocytic committed CD34+ve cells. Up to now, only few studies with small numbers of cases have examined AC133 (recently designated CD133) expression in acute leukemia. To determine the value of this Moab for acute leukemia immunophenotyping, we investigated a large series of leukemic cell samples for their reactivity with Moab AC133. DESIGN AND METHODS. A total of 298 cell samples from patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML) (n=142), acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) (n=119), CD34+ve biphenotypic acute leukemia (n=13), and CD34+ve CML blast crisis (=BC; 21 myeloid BC/3 lymphoid BC) were investigated by flow cytometry for Moab AC133 reactivity.CD133 expression was compared with CD90(Thy-1) expression, another CD34-associated antigen. RESULTS: Fifteen (5%) samples expressed CD90, whereas 114 (38%) samples were positive for Moab AC133 (20% cut-off level). No significant differences in CD133 and CD90 expression levels between AML and ALL were observed. In AML, but not ALL, CD133 was more often expressed in CD34+ve cases than in CD34-ve ones (p<0.00001). However, CD133 expression was not restricted to CD34+ve leukemic cells in individual cell samples. All 8 pro-B-ALL cell samples with 11q23-anomalies and MLL (mixed lineage leukemia) gene translocations were positive for CD133, whereas only 2 of 9 pro-B-ALL without MLL gene translocations expressed CD133 (p<0.002). In contrast, none of the 5 AML cell samples with a t(9;11) and MLL gene translocation reacted with Moab AC133. CD34+ve CML cells in myeloid BC were less often positive for CD133 than CD34+ve de novo AML cells (p<0.0001). INTERPRETATION AND CONCLUSIONS: CD133 and CD90 expression analysis is not helpful for lineage determination in acute leukemia immunophenotyping. However, MoabAC133 may be an informative marker for the detection and further characterization of immature AML cells, as well as pro-B-ALL cells with MLL gene translocations, by flow cytometry.

AC133 Antigen↗
PubMed2000

Chromosomal organization and localization of the human histone deacetylase 5 gene (HDAC5).

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) are important participants in the remodeling of chromatin structure and in the regulation of eukaryotic proliferation and differentiation. We have isolated and characterized the human HDAC5 genomic sequence, which spans a region of 39,138 bp and which has one single chromosomal locus. Determination of the exon-intron splice junctions established that HDAC5 is encoded by 26 exons ranging in size from 22 bp (exon 1) to 285 bp (exon 12). Characterization of the 5' flanking genomic region revealed that the human HDAC5 promoter lacks both the canonical TATA and CCAAT boxes. The human HDAC5 mRNA encodes a 1122 aa protein with a predictive molecular mass of 121.9 kDa and an isoelectric point of 5.84. Fluorescence in situ hybridization analysis localized the human HDAC5 gene to chromosome 17q21, a region which is characterized by frequent gains and losses of chromosomal material in several types of cancer.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed2000

Screening for MLL tandem duplication in 387 unselected patients with AML identify a prognostically unfavorable subset of AML.

Partial tandem duplications of the MLL gene have been associated with trisomy 11 in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and recently, have also been reported for karyotypically normal AML. In order to test the incidence and prognostic importance of this molecular marker, we have analyzed eight cases of AML with trisomy 11 and 387 unselected consecutive cases with AML for partial duplications of the MLL gene. Patients with normal karyotypes and those with various chromosome aberrations were included. De novo as well as secondary leukemias including all FAB subtypes were analyzed. Performing a one-step RT-PCR with 35 cycles using an exon 9 forward primer and an exon 3 reverse primer partial tandem duplications of the MLL gene were demonstrated in 3/8 (37.5%) patients with trisomy 11. In addition, 13/387 (3.4%) of unselected cases revealed a tandem duplication. Ten of these 13 cases were cytogenetically normal, the other three cases had < or =2 additional chromosomal alterations. Sequencing of the RT-PCR products of all 16 positive cases revealed fusions of MLL exon 9/exon 3 (e9/e3) (six cases), e10/e3 (three cases), e11/e3 (four cases) or combinations of differentially spliced e10/e3 and e11/e3 (three cases) transcripts. The duplications were confirmed by genomic long range PCR and Southern blot hybridization. Twelve cases with the MLL duplication were de novo myeloid leukemia, one was a secondary AML after MDS, three were therapy-related AML (t-AML). Of the 16 MLL-duplication positive cases, seven were classified as FAB M2, two as M1, five as M4, one as M0, one as M5b. The mean age was 62.3 years for patients with MLL duplication vs 50.3 years for the control group. Of 15 adult patients, 12 received treatment. Of these, three were nonresponders, five had early relapse (< or =6 months), four relapsed between 7 and 12 months. Median survival and relapse-free interval of the MLL duplication positive group was significantly worse than those of an age-matched karyotypically normal control group. In conclusion, MLL tandem duplications (1) are less common than previously reported; (2) are preferentially observed in AML with normal karyotypes, but can also be found in the presence of chromosome alterations; (3) are not strongly associated with an FAB subtype; (4) were not observed with the prognostically favorable t(8;21), inv(16), and t(15;17), other recurrent translocations, or in complex karyotypes; and (5) identifies a subgroup of patients with an unfavorable prognosis.

Aged↗
PubMed2000

Detection of acute leukemia cells with mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene rearrangements by flow cytometry using monoclonal antibody 7.1.

Translocations involving 11q23 are among the most common genetic abnormalities in hematologic malignancies, occurring in approximately 5-10% of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 5% of acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML). In 11q23 translocations, the mixed lineage leukemia (MLL) gene on chromosome 11, band q23, is usually disrupted. The human homologue of the rat NG2 chondroitin sulfate proteoglycan molecule, as detected by the monoclonal antibody (moab) 7.1, was shown to be expressed on leukemic cells with MLL rearrangements of children with acute leukemia. We further investigated the reactivity of the moab 7.1 on 533 cell samples of adults (n = 215) and children (n = 318) with acute leukemias (271 AML, 217 B-lineage ALL, 37 T-lineage ALL, eight CD7+ CD56+ myeloid/natural killer cell precursor acute leukemias) by flow cytometry. In AML, 38 samples were positive for moab 7.1 ('20%-cut-off-level'). These moab 7.1-positive AML cases revealed a myelomonocytic-differentiated immunophenotype with coexpression of the NK cell marker CD56 in 33 of 38 cases. Two of eight cell samples of the recently described CD7+ CD56+ myeloid/natural killer cell precursor acute leukemia entity reacted with moab 7.1. In ALL, 35 samples mostly of the pro-B-ALL subtype (33 pro-B-ALL, one common-ALL, one pre-B-ALL) were positive for moab 7.1. 58 (81%) of 72 samples with MLL rearrangements were positive for moab 7.1 including 28/31 with a t(4;11), 16/17 with a t(9;11), 3/5 with a t(11;19), and 2/6 with a del(11)(q23). All moab 7.1-positive ALL (n = 34) and childhood AML (n = 17) cases revealed MLL rearrangements as detected by Southern blot analysis and RT-PCR. However, 11 adults with AML, and one adult with moab 7.1-positive CD7+ CD56+ myeloid/natural killer cell precursor acute leukemia were negative for MLL rearrangements as proved by Southern blot analysis. We conclude that moab 7.1 is a sensitive but not entirely specific marker for the identification of 11q23-associated AML and ALL by flow cytometry in children and adults.

Acute Disease↗