The cell death receptor FAS and its ligand (FASLG) play crucial roles in the selection of B cells during the germinal center (GC) reaction. Failure to eliminate potentially harmful B cells via FAS can lead to lymphoproliferation and the development of B cell malignancies. The classic form of follicular lymphoma (FL) is a prototypic GC-derived B cell malignancy, characterized by the t(14;18)(q32;q21)IGH::BCL2 translocation and overexpression of antiapoptotic BCL2.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlthough the landscape for treating acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients has changed substantially in recent years, the majority of patients will eventually relapse and succumb to their disease. Allogeneic stem cell transplantation provides the best anti-AML treatment strategy, but is only suitable in a minority of patients. In contrast to B-cell neoplasias, chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy in AML has encountered challenges in target antigen heterogeneity, safety, and T-cell dysfunction.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBrain size and cortical folding have increased and decreased recurrently during mammalian evolution. Identifying genetic elements whose sequence or functional properties co-evolve with these traits can provide unique information on evolutionary and developmental mechanisms. A good candidate for such a comparative approach is , as it controls proliferation of neural progenitors in mice and ferrets.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFResistance towards cancer treatment represents a major clinical obstacle, preventing cure of cancer patients. To gain mechanistic insights, we developed a model for acquired resistance to chemotherapy by treating mice carrying patient derived xenografts (PDX) of acute lymphoblastic leukemia with widely-used cytotoxic drugs for 18 consecutive weeks. In two distinct PDX samples, tumors initially responded to treatment, until stable disease and eventually tumor re-growth evolved under therapy, at highly similar kinetics between replicate mice.
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