[en] microRNA-125b has been reported to play an novel biological function in the progression and development of several kinds of leukemia. However, the detail role of miR-125b in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is remains largely unknown. The present study aimed to investigate the biological role of miR-125b in AML and the potential molecular mechanism involved in this process. Our results showed that overexpression of miR-125b suppressed AML cells proliferation, invasion and promotes cells apoptosis in a dose-dependent manner, while the miR-NC did not show the same effect. In addition, miR-125b induced AML cells G2/M cell cycle arrest in vitro. Overexpression of miR-125b resulted in a significant decrease of the expression of p-IκB-α and inhibition of IκB-α degradation, and the nuclear translocation of NF-κB subunit p65 was abrogated by miR-125b simutaneously. To further verify that miR-125b targeted NF-κB signaling pathway, the NF-κB-regulated downstream genes that were associated with cell cycle arrest and apoptosis was also determined. The results showed that, miR-125b also affect NF-κB-regulated genes expression involved in cell cycle arrest and apoptosis. In conclusion, the present work certificates that miR-125b can significantly inhibit human AML cells invasion, proliferation and promotes cells apoptosis by targeting the NF-κB signaling pathway, and thus it can be viewed as an promising therapeutic target for AML. - Highlights: • Overexpression of miR-125b suppressed AML cells proliferation, invasion and promotes cells apoptosis. • miR-125b induced AML cells G2/M cell cycle arrest in vitro. • miR-125b suppressed AML cells tumorigenicity and promoted cells apoptosis by targeting NF-κB pathway.

[en] In addition to genetic and epigenetic alteration, post-translational modification of proteins plays a critical role in the initiation, progression and maturation of acute myeloid leukemia (AML). The SUMOylation site of sPRDM16 at K568 was mutated to arginine by site-directed mutagenesis. THP-1 acute myeloid leukemia cells were transduced with a lentivirus containing wild type or K568 mutant sPRDM16. Proliferation, self-renewal and differentiation of transduced THP-1 cells were analyzed both in vitro cell culture and in mouse xenografts. Gene expression profiles were analyzed by RNA-seq. Overexpression of sPRDM16 promoted proliferation, enhanced self-renewal capacity, but inhibited differentiation of THP-1 acute myeloid leukemia cells. We further confirmed that K568 is a bona fide SUMOylation site on sPRDM16. Mutation of the sPRDM16 SUMOylation site at K568 partially abolished the capacity of sPRDM16 to promote proliferation and inhibit differentiation of acute myeloid leukemia cells both in vitro and in mouse xenografts. Furthermore, THP-1 cells overexpressing sPRDM16-K568R mutant exhibited a distinct gene expression profile from wild type sPRDM16 following incubation with PMA. Our results suggest that K568 SUMOylation of sPRDM16 plays an important role in the progression of acute myeloid leukemia

[en] By means of new techniques for time series it is shown that periodic chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) is in fact not periodic but rather chaotic. (author)

[en] Disruption of cyclic adenosine monophosphate response element binding protein (CREB) provides a potential new strategy to address acute leukemia, a disease associated with poor prognosis, and for which conventional treatment options often carry a significant risk of morbidity and mortality. In this paper, we describe the structure-activity relationships (SAR) for a series of XX-650-23 derived from naphthol AS-E phosphate that disrupts binding and activation of CREB by the CREB-binding protein (CBP). Through the development of this series, we identified several salicylamides that are potent inhibitors of acute leukemia cell viability through inhibition of CREB-CBP interaction. Among them, a biphenyl salicylamide, compound 71, was identified as a potent inhibitor of CREB-CBP interaction with improved physicochemical properties relative to previously described derivatives of naphthol AS-E phosphate.

[en] p15INK4B, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor, has been recognized as a tumor suppressor. Loss of or methylation of the p15INK4B gene in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells enhances myeloid progenitor formation from common myeloid progenitors. Therefore, we examined the effects of overexpressed p15INK4B on proliferation and apoptosis of CML cells. Overexpression of p15INK4B inhibited the growth of K562 cells by downregulation of cyclin-dependent kinase 4 (CDK4) and cyclin D1 expression. Overexpression of p15INK4B also induced apoptosis of K562 cells by upregulating Bax expression and downregulating Bcl-2 expression. Overexpression of p15INK4B together with STI571 (imatinib) or BCR-ABL1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) also enhanced growth inhibition and apoptosis induction of K562 cells. The enhanced effect was also mediated by reduction of cyclin D1 and CDK4 and regulation of Bax and Bcl-2. In conclusion, our study may provide new insights into the role of p15INK4B in CML and a potential therapeutic target for overcoming tyrosine kinase inhibitor resistance in CML

[en] Acute leukemia is a rare complication of long-term chemotherapy, immunosuppressive therapy and radiotherapy. With improved survival in cancer patients resulting from modern methods of investigations and treatment, more case of secondary leukemia have come to light. In this review, fifteen cases of secondary leukemia, its prognostic implications and methods to reduce the risk of its development are emphasised. Relevant literature is also reviewed. (author). 3 tabs., 24 refs

No abstract available

[en] Mutations in genes that are part of the splicing machinery for myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), including MDS without ring sideroblasts (RS), have been widely investigated. The effects of these mutations on clinical outcomes have been diverse and contrasting. We examined a cohort of 129 de novo MDS patients, who did not harbor RS, for mutations affecting three spliceosomal genes (SF3B1, U2AF1, and SRSF2). The mutation rates of SF3B1, U2AF1, and SRSF2 were 7.0 %, 7.8 %, and 10.1 %, respectively. Compared with previously reported results, these rates were relatively infrequent. The SRSF2 mutation strongly correlated with old age (P < 0.001), while the mutation status of SF3B1 did not affect overall survival (OS), progression-free survival (PFS), or acute myeloid leukemia (AML) transformation. In contrast, MDS patients with mutations in U2AF1 or SRSF2 exhibited inferior PFS. The U2AF1 mutation was associated with inferior OS in low-risk MDS patients (P = 0.035). The SRSF2 mutation was somewhat associated with AML transformation (P = 0.083). Our findings suggest that the frequencies of the SF3B1, U2AF1, and SRSF2 splicing gene mutations in MDS without RS were relatively low. We also demonstrated that the U2AF1 and SRSF2 mutations were associated with an unfavorable prognostic impact in MDS patients without RS. The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12885-015-1493-5) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

[en] Morphologic changes of spinal canal and dural sac during spinal movement (flexion-extension) were analysed and reported with the base of cross sectional anatomy, as early as 1942. After that, this movement was emphasized and used in myelography in many countries under the name of functional myelography, for accurate diagnosis of spinal stenosis as herniated disc, but nor used commonly in Korea. Authors analysed functional myelographic findings of 78 cases, 37 of normal and 41 of surgically confirmed herniated disc, to intend to confirm the necessity of spinal movement during myelography. The results were as follows; 1. In normal group, anterior border of dural sac is stright with flexion, but indented in extension at the level of intervertebral space and this indentation is less prominent at L5-S1. 2. In normal group with extension, posterior indentation of dural sac is more prominent at the level of intervertebral space than body, A-P diameter of dural sac is narrowed all the level of intervertebral space except L5-S1,and dural sac moved anteriorly (near to the posterior portion of spinal body or intervertebral space) at the level L5-S1 and all spinal body. 3. In disc patient, anterior indentation of dural sac is persist in both views (flexion and extension) and much more exaggerated with extension, but less prominent at L5-S1. 4. In herniated disc patient with extension, anterior movement of anterior dural border at the level of L5-S1 is much decreased than normal.

[en] Although several new therapeutic approaches have improved outcomes in the treatment of hematologic malignancies, unmet need persists in acute myeloid leukemia (AML), multiple myeloma (MM) and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma. Here we describe the proteomic identification of a novel cancer target, SAIL (Surface Antigen In Leukemia), whose expression is observed in AML, MM, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and follicular lymphoma (FL). While SAIL is widely expressed in CLL, AML, MM, DLBCL and FL patient samples, expression in cancer cell lines is mostly limited to cells of AML origin. We evaluated the antitumor activity of anti-SAIL monoclonal antibodies, 7-1C and 67-7A, conjugated to monomethyl auristatin F. Following internalization, anti-SAIL antibody–drug conjugates (ADCs) exhibited subnanomolar IC₅₀ values against AML cell lines in vitro. In pharmacology studies employing AML cell line xenografts, anti-SAIL ADCs resulted in significant tumor growth inhibition. The restricted expression profile of this target in normal tissues, the high prevalence in different types of hematologic cancers and the observed preclinical activity support the clinical development of SAIL-targeted ADCs