Abstract
Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) accounts for ~10% of all acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) cases, and is characterized by accumulation of abnormal promyelocytes in the bone marrow. APL is uniquely associated with balanced chromosomal translocations involving the retinoic acid receptor alpha (RARA) locus. A functional chimeric protein, X-RARA, is created, whose N-terminus is derived from the partner (“X”) gene, and retains its oligomerization domain. The C-terminus is derived from RARA. X-RARA contributes to the APL phenotype by interfering with granulocyte differentiation, through acquisition of novel transactivating activity and/or interference with the normal functions of RARA and X. Several studies have indicated that defective retinoid signaling, though sufficient to block myeloid differentiation, cannot induce a leukemia. Thus, pathways external to retinoid signaling must be deregulated by X-RARA in order to give rise to APL. We previously reported whole genome gene expression analysis of the hCG-NuMA-RARA transgenic mouse model (
Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
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