Gene rearrangements of MLL and RUNX1 sporadically occur in normal CD34⁺ cells under cytokine stimulation.

ABSTRACT: Gene rearrangements of MLL/KMT2A or RUNX1 are the major cause of therapy-related leukemia. Moreover, MLL rearrangements are the major cause of infant leukemia, and RUNX1 rearrangements are frequently detected in cord blood. These genes are sensitive to topoisomerase II inhibitors, and various genes have been identified as potential fusion partners. However, fetal exposure to these inhibitors is rare. Therefore, we postulated that even a proliferation signal itself might induce gene rearrangements in hematopoietic stem cells. To test this hypothesis, we detected gene rearrangements in etoposide-treated or non-treated CD34⁺ cells cultured with cytokines using inverse PCR. In the etoposide-treated cells, variable-sized rearrangement bands were detected in the RUNX1 and MLL genes at

SUBMITTER: Harada Y 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7226195 | biostudies-literature | 2020 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature