PMID: 9000579Jan 15, 1997Paper

Transforming function of the HOX11/TCL3 homeobox gene

Cancer Research
R G HawleyTeresa S Hawley

Abstract

The HOX11/TCL3 homeobox gene was identified at the breakpoint region in pediatric T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia harboring 10q24 chromosomal translocations. We previously reported that primary murine bone marrow cells transduced ex vivo with a recombinant HOX11-containing retrovirus, MSCV-HOX11, gave rise to cell lines at high frequency having characteristics of early myeloid cells. Cell lines were also established from the bone marrow and spleen of transplant recipients sacrificed 5 months after engraftment with MSCV-HOX11-transduced bone marrow cells. These latter lines, which exhibited a more differentiated myelomonocytic phenotype, harbored proviruses encoding a smaller HOX11 protein. None of the mice that received HOX11-expressing bone marrow cells or myeloid cell lines developed leukemia during 6-month observation periods. Here, we report that two bone marrow transplant recipients eventually developed T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia-like malignancies at 7 and 12 months posttransplant, indicating that progression to a fully malignant state required additional mutations. One tumor synthesized full-length HOX11 whereas the other expressed the smaller version of the protein. The smaller HOX11 protein suffered a carbo...Continue Reading

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