A case of adult B lymphoblastic leukemia with ider(9)(q10)t(9;22)(q34;q11.2) and der(19)t(1;19)(q23;p13.3).

In B lymphoblastic leukemia/lymphoma (B-ALL/LBL), t(9;22)(q34;q11.2) and t(1;19)(q23;p13.3) are recurrent cytogenetic abnormalities. The concurrent occurrence of both abnormalities is very rare, and only 3 cases have been previously reported. Here, we report a case of adult B-ALL with ider(9)(q10)t(9;22)(q34;q11.2) and der(19)t(1;19)(q23;p13.3). A literature review revealed that ider(9) (q10)t(9;22) is a rare variant of t(9;22) with a deletion of the short arm of chromosome 9. Fifteen cases of ider(9)(q10)t(9;22) have been reported. This abnormality is specific to precursor B-lymphoid neoplasms, such as B-ALL or B-lymphoid blast phase of CML, and is associated with disease progression or short survival. The cytogenetic abnormality t(1;19) is also specific to B-ALL. In most instances of t(1;19), TCF3 is fused to PBX1; however, a few cases have identical translocations but no TCF3-PBX1 fusion, as was observed in our patient. We describe the first case of ider(9)(q10)t(9;22) in combination with TCF3-PBX1 negative t(1;19). The patient underwent imatinib therapy in addition to intensive chemotherapy, but failed to achieve remission.

A case of partial trisomy 2p23-pter syndrome with trisomy 18p due to a de novo supernumerary marker chromosome.

Partial trisomy 2p is a rare but relatively well-defined syndrome with distinctive clinical features, including marked psychomotor delay, dysmorphic face, and congenital heart disease. The phenotype of trisomy 18p is variable, from normal appearance to moderate mental retardation. Most cases of trisomy 2p and trisomy 18p result from the inheritance of an unbalanced segregant from a balanced parental translocation or due to de novo duplication. Here, we present the first report of a combined partial trisomy 2p and trisomy 18p due to a supernumerary marker chromosome (SMC). The final karyotype of the patient was 47,XX,+der(18)t(2;18)(p23.1;q11.1)[22]/46,XX[8]. The patient had typical dysmorphic features of partial trisomy 2p23-pter syndrome and congenital heart disease. SMCs are remarkably variable in euchromatic DNA content and mosaicism level. The precise identification of the origin and composition of SMCs is essential for genotype-phenotype correlation and genetic counseling.

Hepatoma-derived growth factor regulates the bad-mediated apoptotic pathway and induction of vascular endothelial growth factor in stomach cancer cells.

Hepatoma-derived growth factor (HDGF) is highly expressed in tumor cells and may play an important role in the development and progression of carcinomas. However, the molecular mechanism by which HDGF participates in gastric carcinomatosis requires further analysis. In this study, we determined the role of HDGF in tumorigenesis and elucidated the mechanisms of action. To determine aggressive biological behavior, we knocked down HDGF expression with HDGF-specific shRNA in two gastric cancer cell lines. First, using cDNA microarrary, we showed that hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) induced HDGF and confirmed this by Western blotting. HGF increased HDGF in a dose-dependent manner. We also determined whether HDGF induces angiogenic factor, and found the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was induced by HDGF. Downregulation of HDGF resulted in a decrement of VEGF. HDGF knock-down was found to induce the expression of the proapoptotic protein, Bad, and also inactivate ERK, which in turn led to dephosphorylation of Bad at ser112 and ser136, and induced apoptosis. Transfection with HDGF-siRNA resulted in a decrement of cell proliferation, as determined with a MMT assay. In an in vitro invasion assay, significantly fewer cells transfected with HDGF-siRNA than control cells were able to invade across a Matrigel membrane barrier. Our results suggest that HDGF is involved in cell growth, cell invasion, and apoptosis. These qualities may contribute to the HDGF-associated aggressive biological behavior of gastric cancer and thus serve as a potential target for cancer therapy.