Abnormal microRNA-16 locus with synteny to human 13q14 linked to CLL in NZB mice.

New Zealand black (NZB) mice with autoimmune and B lymphoproliferative disease (B-LPD) are a model for human chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). A genomewide linkage scan of the NZB loci associated with lymphoma was conducted in F1 backcrosses of NZB and a control strain, DBA/2. Of 202 mice phenotyped for the presence or absence of LPD, surface maker expression, DNA content, and microsatellite polymorphisms, 74 had disease.

Albumin enhanced morphometric image analysis in CLL.

Background: The heterogeneity of lymphocytes from patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and blood film artifacts make morphologic subclassification of this disease difficult.

Methods: We reviewed paired blood films prepared from ethylene-diamine-tetraacetic acid (ETDA) samples with and without bovine serum albumin (BSA) from 82 CLL patients. Group 1 adhered to NCCLS specifications for the preparations of EDTA blood films.

B-cell monoclonal lymphocytosis and B-cell abnormalities in the setting of familial B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

Background: Among all hematologic malignancies, B-cell chronic lymphocytic leukemia (BCLL) has the highest familial clustering (three- to sevenfold increase), strongly suggesting a genetic component to its etiology. Familial BCLL can be used as a model to study the early pathogenesis of this disease.

Methods: We examined nine kindreds from the National Cancer Institute's Familial BCLL Registry, consisting of 19 affected members with BCLL and 33 clinically unaffected first-degree relatives.