Global expression profiling of CD10 + /CD19 + pre-B lymphoblasts from Hispanic B-ALL patients correlates with comparative TARGET database analysis

Mexico City has one of the highest incidences of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) globally, with patients showing low survival, and high relapse rates. To gain more insight into the molecular features of B-ALL in Mexican children, we isolated CD10 + /CD19 + precursor B lymphoblasts from four bone marrow and nine peripheral blood samples of B-ALL patients using a fluorescence-activated cell sorting protocol. The global gene expression profile (BM vs PB) revealed 136 differentially expressed genes; 62 were upregulated (45.6%) and 74 were downregulated (54.4%). Pearson's correlation coefficient was calculated to determine the similarity between pre-B lymphoblast populations. We selected 26 highly significant genes and validated 21 by RT-qPCR (CNN3, STON2, CALN1, RUNX2, GADD45A, CDC45, CDC20, PLK1, AIDA, HCK, LY86, GPR65, PIK3CG, LILRB2, IL7R, TCL1A, DOCK1, HIST1H3G, PTPN14, CD72, and NT5E). The gene set enrichment analysis of the total expression matrix and the ingenuity pathway analysis of the 136 differentially expressed genes showed that the cell cycle was altered in the bone marrow with four overexpressed genes (PLK1, CDC20, CDC45, and GADD45A) and a low expression of IL7R and PIK3CG, which are involved in B cell differentiation. A comparative bioinformatics analysis of 15 bone marrow and 10 peripheral blood samples from Hispanic B-ALL patients collected by the TARGET program, corroborated the genes observed, except for PIK3CG. We conclude the Mexican and the Hispanic B-ALL patients studied present common driver alterations and histotype-specific mutations that could facilitate risk stratification and diagnostic accuracy and serve as potential therapeutic targets.

[Gaucher's disease: clinical picture in 11 children]

BACKGROUND

Gaucher's disease, the most prevalent lysosome storage disorder, presents an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance with a deficiency of the acid b-glucosidase enzyme. Our objective was to describe the clinical features, symptoms, evolution and treatment of Gaucher's disease in Mexican pediatric patients.

METHODS

the medical files of every patient diagnosed with Gaucher's treated during the last 11 years at the Pediatrics Department at General Hospital "Dr. Gaudencio González Garza" were reviewed. Demographic and clinical data were registered.

RESULTS

eleven patients were diagnosed with Gaucher's Disease: eight women and three men between the age of 7 and 172 months. Four patients were classified as type I, two as type II and five as type III.

CONCLUSIONS

a better understanding of the clinical features and diverse phenotypes in Mexican patients with Gaucher's disease will contribute to a timely diagnosis and a continuous, individualized treatment.