1 4864 96 ORLANDO MAGIC: REPORT FROM THE 57TH MEETING OF THE AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HAEMATOLOGY, 5-7 DECEMBER 2015, ORLANDO, USA. THE 57TH AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HAEMATOLOGY (ASH) MEETING HELD IN ORLANDO, FL WAS CERTAINLY THE YEAR WHEN MYELOMA MANAGEMENT CHANGED FOR GOOD, WITH A PLETHORA OF NEWLY FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION (FDA)-APPROVED DRUGS SHOWING IMPRESSIVE OUTCOME IMPROVEMENTS AND THE INTRODUCTION OF NEW TECHNIQUES FOR DISEASE MONITORING. ALSO, CHIMERIC ANTIGEN RECEPTOR (CAR) T CELLS CONTINUED THEIR TRIUMPHAL MARCH, CONSOLIDATING THEIR SUCCESS IN LYMPHOMA AND CHRONIC LYMHOCYTIC LEUKAEMIA (CLL) AND VENTURING INTO NEW FIELDS SUCH AS AGAIN MULTIPLE MYELOMA. SOME EXPERIMENTAL DRUGS SHOWED LONG-AWAITED RESULTS (MIDOSTAURIN IN FLT3-MUTATED ACUTE MYELOID LEUKAEMIA (AML)) AND SOME BRAND NEW DRUGS SHOWED PROMISING RESULTS IN THE CLINIC AFTER EXTENSIVE PRECLINICAL STUDIES, SUCH AS THOSE TARGETING NEW EPIGENETIC FACTORS (HISTONE METHYLTRANSFERASES) AND APOPTOSIS. 2016 2 4560 20 MUTATIONS WITH EPIGENETIC EFFECTS IN MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS AND RECENT PROGRESS IN TREATMENT: PROCEEDINGS FROM THE 5TH INTERNATIONAL POST-ASH SYMPOSIUM. IMMEDIATELY FOLLOWING THE 2010 ANNUAL AMERICAN SOCIETY OF HEMATOLOGY (ASH) MEETING, THE 5TH INTERNATIONAL POST-ASH SYMPOSIUM ON CHRONIC MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA AND BCR-ABL1-NEGATIVE MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPNS) TOOK PLACE ON 7-8 DECEMBER 2010 IN ORLANDO, FLORIDA, USA. DURING THIS MEETING, THE MOST RECENT ADVANCES IN LABORATORY RESEARCH AND CLINICAL PRACTICE, INCLUDING THOSE THAT WERE PRESENTED AT THE 2010 ASH MEETING, WERE DISCUSSED AMONG RECOGNIZED AUTHORITIES IN THE FIELD. THE CURRENT PAPER SUMMARIZES THE PROCEEDINGS OF THIS MEETING IN BCR-ABL1-NEGATIVE MPN. WE PROVIDE A DETAILED OVERVIEW OF NEW MUTATIONS WITH PUTATIVE EPIGENETIC EFFECTS (TET ONCOGENE FAMILY MEMBER 2 (TET2), ADDITIONAL SEX COMB-LIKE 1 (ASXL1), ISOCITRATE DEHYDROGENASE (IDH) AND ENHANCER OF ZESTE HOMOLOG 2 (EZH2)) AND AN UPDATE ON TREATMENT WITH JANUS KINASE (JAK) INHIBITORS, POMALIDOMIDE, EVEROLIMUS, INTERFERON-ALPHA, MIDOSTAURIN AND CLADRIBINE. IN ADDITION, THE NEW 'DYNAMIC INTERNATIONAL PROGNOSTIC SCORING SYSTEM (DIPSS)-PLUS' PROGNOSTIC MODEL FOR PRIMARY MYELOFIBROSIS (PMF) AND THE CLINICAL RELEVANCE OF DISTINGUISHING ESSENTIAL THROMBOCYTHEMIA FROM PREFIBROTIC PMF ARE DISCUSSED. 2011 3 4759 14 NOVEL TREATMENTS FOR MYELOFIBROSIS: BEYOND JAK INHIBITORS. MYELOFIBROSIS IS A CHRONIC HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCY CHARACTERIZED BY CONSTITUTIONAL SYMPTOMS, BONE MARROW FIBROSIS, EXTRAMEDULLARY HEMATOPOIESIS RESULTING IN SPLENOMEGALY AND A PROPENSITY TOWARD LEUKEMIC PROGRESSION. GIVEN THE CENTRAL ROLE OF THE JAK-STAT PATHWAY IN THE PATHOBIOLOGY OF MYELOFIBROSIS, JAK INHIBITORS ARE THE MAINSTAY OF CURRENT PHARMACOLOGIC MANAGEMENT. ALTHOUGH THESE THERAPIES HAVE PRODUCED MEANINGFUL IMPROVEMENTS IN SPLENOMEGALY AND SYMPTOM BURDEN, JAK INHIBITORS DO NOT SIGNIFICANTLY IMPACT DISEASE PROGRESSION. IN ADDITION, MANY PATIENTS ARE INELIGIBLE BECAUSE OF DISEASE-RELATED CYTOPENIAS, WHICH ARE EXACERBATED BY JAK INHIBITORS. THEREFORE, THERE IS A CONTINUED EFFORT TO IDENTIFY TARGETS OUTSIDE THE JAK-STAT PATHWAY. IN THIS REVIEW, WE DISCUSS NOVEL THERAPIES IN DEVELOPMENT FOR MYELOFIBROSIS. WE FOCUS ON THE PRECLINICAL RATIONALE, EFFICACY AND SAFETY DATA FOR NON-JAK INHIBITOR THERAPIES THAT HAVE PUBLISHED OR PRESENTED CLINICAL DATA. SPECIFICALLY, WE DISCUSS AGENTS THAT TARGET EPIGENETIC MODIFICATION (PELABRESIB, BOMEDEMSTAT), APOPTOSIS (NAVITOCLAX, NAVTEMDALIN), SIGNALING PATHWAYS (PARSACLISIB), BONE MARROW FIBROSIS (AVID200, PRM-151), IN ADDITION TO OTHER TARGETS INCLUDING TELOMERASE (IMETELSTAT), SELECTIVE INHIBITOR OF NUCLEAR TRANSPORT (SELINEXOR), CD123 (TAGRAXOFUSP) AND ERYTHROID MATURATION (LUSPATERCEPT). WE END BY PROVIDING COMMENTARY ON THE ONGOING AND FUTURE THERAPEUTIC DEVELOPMENT IN MYELOFIBROSIS. 2022 4 3899 21 LATE NEUROLOGICAL CONSEQUENCES OF ZIKA VIRUS INFECTION: RISK FACTORS AND PHARMACEUTICAL APPROACHES. ZIKA VIRUS (ZIKV) INFECTION WAS HISTORICALLY CONSIDERED A DISEASE WITH MILD SYMPTOMS AND NO MAJOR CONSEQUENCES TO HUMAN HEALTH. HOWEVER, SEVERAL LONG-TERM, LATE ONSET, AND CHRONIC NEUROLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS, BOTH IN CONGENITALLY-EXPOSED BABIES AND IN ADULT PATIENTS, HAVE BEEN REPORTED AFTER ZIKV INFECTION, ESPECIALLY AFTER THE 2015 EPIDEMICS IN THE AMERICAN CONTINENT. THE DEVELOPMENT OR SEVERITY OF THESE CONDITIONS CANNOT BE FULLY PREDICTED, BUT IT IS POSSIBLE THAT GENETIC, EPIGENETIC, AND ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS MAY CONTRIBUTE TO DETERMINE ZIKV INFECTION OUTCOMES. THIS REINFORCES THE IMPORTANCE THAT INDIVIDUALS EXPOSED TO ZIKV ARE SUBMITTED TO LONG-TERM CLINICAL SURVEILLANCE AND HIGHLIGHTS THE URGENT NEED FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THERAPEUTIC APPROACHES TO REDUCE OR ELIMINATE THE NEUROLOGICAL BURDEN OF INFECTION. HERE, WE REVIEW THE EPIDEMIOLOGY OF ZIKV-ASSOCIATED NEUROLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS AND THE ROLE OF FACTORS THAT MAY INFLUENCE DISEASE OUTCOME. MOREOVER, WE DISCUSS EXPERIMENTAL AND CLINICAL EVIDENCE OF DRUGS THAT HAVE SHOWN PROMISING RESULTS IN VITRO OR IN VITRO AGAINST VIRAL REPLICATION AND AND/OR ZIKV-INDUCED NEUROTOXICITY. 2019 5 5249 19 PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH-1 PATHWAY INHIBITION IN MYELOID MALIGNANCIES: IMPLICATIONS FOR MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS. MYELOPROLIFERATIVE NEOPLASMS (MPNS) ARE CLONAL HEMATOPOIETIC DISEASES THAT BELONG TO THE SPECTRUM OF MYELOID MALIGNANCIES (MYMS), WHICH ALSO INCLUDE MYELODYSPLASTIC SYNDROMES (MDS), ACUTE MYELOID LEUKEMIA (AML), AND CHRONIC MYELOGENOUS LEUKEMIA (CML). WHILE HEMATOPOIETIC STEM CELL TRANSPLANTATION (HSCT) IS A POTENTIALLY CURATIVE THERAPEUTIC APPROACH TO MANY MYMS, THE ASSOCIATED MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY HAVE NECESSITATED THE DEVELOPMENT OF NON-HSCT THERAPEUTICS FOR SYMPTOM MANAGEMENT AND DISEASE COURSE MODIFICATION. IMMUNE CHECKPOINT INHIBITION, IN PARTICULAR ALONG THE PROGRAMMED CELL DEATH PROTEIN 1 (PD-1)/B7-H1 (PD-L1) AXIS, IS AN ESTABLISHED STRATEGY IN SOLID TUMORS WITH POTENTIAL AS AN ADJUNCTIVE THERAPY IN HEMATOLOGIC MALIGNANCIES. SEMINAL STUDIES SUGGEST THAT THE PRO-INFLAMMATORY MICROENVIRONMENT OF MYMS CAN SUPPRESS T LYMPHOCYTE-MEDIATED IMMUNITY VIA PD-1 SIGNALING AND THAT RESPONSE TO MAINSTAY EPIGENETIC THERAPIES FOR MYMS MAY BE GOVERNED BY PD-1 GENE REGULATION. ALTHOUGH THE ROLE OF PD-1 SIGNALING IN MPN PATHOGENESIS AND PROGRESSION IS AS YET UNCLEAR, RESEARCH IN MPN PATIENTS HAS REVEALED EXPANSION OF MYELOID-DERIVED SUPPRESSOR CELLS (MDSCS), WHICH MAY EFFECT HOST IMMUNE TOLERANCE OF TUMOR VIA TEMPORALLY AND SPATIALLY SPECIFIC ACTIVATION OF PD-1/PD-L1 SIGNALING. THE CURRENT UNDERSTANDING OF IMMUNE DYSFUNCTION IN MPNS AND ANALOGOUS MYMS OFFERS A COMPELLING RATIONALE TO STUDY PD-1/PD-L1 INHIBITION IN PATIENTS AS A NOVEL TREATMENT OPTION. 2017 6 4545 23 MUTANT P53 GAIN OF FUNCTION AND CHEMORESISTANCE: THE ROLE OF MUTANT P53 IN RESPONSE TO CLINICAL CHEMOTHERAPY. PURPOSE: TO REVIEW MECHANISMS UNDERLYING MUTANT P53 (MUTP53) GAIN OF FUNCTION (GOF) AND MUTP53-INDUCED CHEMORESISTANCE, AND TO INVESTIGATE THE ROLE OF MUTP53 IN RESPONSE TO CLINICAL CHEMOTHERAPY. METHODS: WE SEARCHED THE PUBMED DATABASE FOR CLINICAL STUDIES FROM THE PAST DECADE, INCLUDING DATA EVALUATING THE IMPACT OF MUTP53 IN CLINICAL CHEMOTHERAPY RESPONSE. RESULTS: INTERACTIONS BETWEEN MUTP53 AND TRANSCRIPTIONAL FACTORS, PROTEINS OR DNA STRUCTURES, AS WELL AS EPIGENETIC REGULATION, CONTRIBUTE TO MUTP53 GOF. MAJOR MECHANISMS OF MUTP53-INDUCED CHEMORESISTANCE INCLUDE ENHANCED DRUG EFFLUX AND METABOLISM, PROMOTING SURVIVAL, INHIBITING APOPTOSIS, UPREGULATING DNA REPAIR, SUPPRESSING AUTOPHAGY, ELEVATING MICROENVIRONMENTAL RESISTANCE AND INDUCING A STEM-LIKE PHENOTYPE. CLINICALLY, MUTP53 PREDICTED RESISTANCE TO CHEMOTHERAPY IN DIFFUSE LARGE B-CELL LYMPHOMA, AND ESOPHAGEAL AND OROPHARYNGEAL CANCERS, BUT ITS IMPACT ON CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA WAS UNCLEAR. IN BLADDER CANCER, MUTP53 DID NOT PREDICT RESISTANCE, WHEREAS IN SOME BREAST AND OVARIAN CANCERS, IT WAS ASSOCIATED WITH SENSITIVITY TO CERTAIN CHEMOTHERAPEUTIC AGENTS. CONCLUSION: MUTP53 HAS AN INTRICATE ROLE IN THE RESPONSE TO CLINICAL CHEMOTHERAPY AND SHOULD NOT BE INTERPRETED IN ISOLATION. FURTHERMORE, WHEN PREDICTING TUMOR RESPONSE TO CHEMOTHERAPY BASED ON THE P53 STATUS, THE DRUGS USED SHOULD ALSO BE TAKEN INTO CONSIDERATION. THESE CONCEPTS REQUIRE FURTHER INVESTIGATION. 2017 7 2469 9 EPIGENETIC TRAJECTORIES OF THE PREMALIGNANT-TO-MALIGNANT TRANSITION OF CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. KRETZMER AND COLLEAGUES SHOW THAT THE TRANSITION TO ALTERED METHYLOME OCCURS VERY EARLY IN CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA, AND ONCE ACQUIRED, IT IS A CLONAL AND EXTREMELY STABLE CHANGE. HOWEVER, THE PRECISE TIME POINT WHEN THE LEUKEMIC CLONE STARTS DEVIATING SIGNIFICANTLY FROM THE NORMAL B-CELL DIFFERENTIATION TRAJECTORY IS STILL ELUSIVE. SEE RELATED ARTICLE BY KRETZMER ET AL., P. 54. 2021 8 1260 17 CURRENT VIEWS ON THE INTERPLAY BETWEEN TYROSINE KINASES AND PHOSPHATASES IN CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA. CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA (CML) IS A MYELOPROLIFERATIVE DISORDER CHARACTERIZED BY BCR-ABL1 ONCOGENE EXPRESSION. THIS DYSREGULATED PROTEIN-TYROSINE KINASE (PTK) IS KNOWN AS THE PRINCIPAL DRIVER OF THE DISEASE AND IS TARGETED BY TYROSINE KINASE INHIBITORS (TKIS). EXTENSIVE DOCUMENTATION HAS ELUCIDATED HOW THE TRANSFORMATION OF MALIGNANT CELLS IS CHARACTERIZED BY MULTIPLE GENETIC/EPIGENETIC CHANGES LEADING TO THE LOSS OF TUMOR-SUPPRESSOR GENES FUNCTION OR PROTO-ONCOGENES EXPRESSION. THE IMPAIRMENT OF ADEQUATE LEVELS OF SUBSTRATES PHOSPHORYLATION, THUS AFFECTING THE BALANCE PTKS AND PROTEIN PHOSPHATASES (PPS), REPRESENTS A WELL-ESTABLISHED CELLULAR MECHANISM TO ESCAPE FROM SELF-LIMITING SIGNALS. IN THIS REVIEW, WE FOCUS OUR ATTENTION ON THE CHARACTERIZATION OF AND INTERACTIONS BETWEEN PTKS AND PPS, EMPHASIZING THEIR BIOLOGICAL ROLES IN DISEASE EXPANSION, THE REGULATION OF LSCS AND TKI RESISTANCE. WE DECIDED TO SEPARATE THOSE PPS THAT HAVE BEEN VALIDATED IN PRIMARY CELL MODELS OR LEUKEMIA MOUSE MODELS FROM THOSE WHOSE STUDIES HAVE BEEN PERFORMED ONLY IN CELL LINES (AND, THUS, REQUIRE VALIDATION), AS THERE MAY BE DIFFERENCES IN THE MANNER THAT THE ASSOCIATED PATHWAYS ARE MODIFIED UNDER THESE TWO CONDITIONS. THIS REVIEW SUMMARIZES THE ROLES OF DIVERSE PPS, WITH HOPE THAT BETTER KNOWLEDGE OF THE INTERPLAY AMONG PHOSPHATASES AND KINASES WILL EVENTUALLY RESULT IN A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THIS DISEASE AND CONTRIBUTE TO ITS ERADICATION. 2021 9 2461 22 EPIGENETIC THERAPY AS A PUTATIVE MOLECULAR TARGET TO MODULATE B CELL BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR IN THE CONTEXT OF IMMUNOLOGICAL DISORDERS. HISTONE DEACETYLASE- (HDAC-) DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS HAVE BEEN WIDELY EXPLORED IN THE LAST DECADE IN DIFFERENT TYPES OF MALIGNANCIES IN PRECLINICAL STUDIES. THIS EFFORT LED TO THE DISCOVERY AND DEVELOPMENT OF A RANGE OF NEW HDAC INHIBITORS (IHDAC) WITH DIFFERENT CHEMICAL PROPERTIES AND SELECTIVE ABILITIES. IN FACT, HEMATOLOGICAL MALIGNANCIES WERE THE FIRST ONES TO HAVE NEW IHDACS APPROVED FOR CLINICAL USE, SUCH AS VORINOSTAT AND ROMIDEPSIN FOR CUTANEOUS T CELL LYMPHOMA AND PANOBINOSTAT FOR MULTIPLE MYELOMA. BESIDES THESE PROMISING ALREADY APPROVED IHDACS, WE HIGHLIGHT A RANGE OF STUDIES FOCUSING ON THE HDAC-DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC CONTROL OF B CELL DEVELOPMENT, BEHAVIOR, AND/OR FUNCTION. HERE, WE HIGHLIGHT 21 IHDACS WHICH HAVE BEEN STUDIED IN THE LITERATURE IN THE CONTEXT OF B CELL DEVELOPMENT AND/OR DYSFUNCTION MOSTLY FOCUSED ON B CELL LYMPHOMAGENESIS. REGARDLESS, WE HAVE IDENTIFIED 55 CLINICAL TRIALS USING 6 OUT OF 21 IHDACS TO APPROACH THEIR PUTATIVE ROLES ON B CELL MALIGNANCIES; NONE OF THEM FOCUSES ON PERITONEAL B CELL POPULATIONS. SINCE CELLS BELONGING TO THIS PECULIAR BODY COMPARTMENT, NAMED B1 CELLS, MAY CONTRIBUTE TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF AUTOIMMUNE PATHOLOGIES, SUCH AS LUPUS, A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF THE HDAC-DEPENDENT EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS THAT CONTROL ITS BIOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR MIGHT SHED LIGHT ON IHDAC USE TO MANAGE THESE IMMUNOLOGICAL DYSFUNCTIONS. IN THIS SENSE, IHDACS MIGHT EMERGE AS A PROMISING NEW APPROACH FOR TRANSLATIONAL STUDIES IN THIS FIELD. IN THIS REVIEW, WE DISCUSS A PUTATIVE ROLE OF IHDACS IN THE MODULATION OF PERITONEAL B CELL SUBPOPULATION'S BALANCE AS WELL AS THEIR ROLE AS THERAPEUTIC AGENTS IN THE CONTEXT OF CHRONIC DISEASES MEDIATED BY PERITONEAL B CELLS. 2020 10 102 18 A REGULATORY ROLE FOR CHD2 IN MYELOPOIESIS. THE TRANSCRIPTIONAL PROGRAM THAT DICTATES HAEMATOPOIETIC CELL FATE AND DIFFERENTIATION REQUIRES AN EPIGENETIC REGULATORY AND MEMORY FUNCTION, PROVIDED BY A NETWORK OF EPIGENETIC FACTORS THAT REGULATE DNA METHYLATION, POST-TRANSLATIONAL HISTONE MODIFICATIONS AND CHROMATIN STRUCTURE. DISTURBED EPIGENETIC REGULATION CAUSES PERTURBATIONS IN THE BLOOD CELL DIFFERENTIATION PROGRAM THAT RESULTS IN VARIOUS TYPES OF HAEMATOPOIETIC DISORDERS. THUS, ACCURATE EPIGENETIC REGULATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR FUNCTIONAL HAEMATOPOIESIS. IN THIS STUDY, WE USED A CRISPR-CAS9 SCREENING APPROACH TO IDENTIFY NEW EPIGENETIC REGULATORS IN MYELOID DIFFERENTIATION. WE DESIGNED A CHROMATIN-UMI CRISPR GUIDE LIBRARY TARGETING 1092 EPIGENETIC REGULATORS. PHORBOL 12-MYRISTATE 13-ACETATE (PMA) TREATMENT OF THE CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKAEMIA CELL LINE K-562 WAS USED AS A MEGAKARYOCYTIC MYELOID DIFFERENTIATION MODEL. BOTH PREVIOUSLY DESCRIBED DEVELOPMENTAL EPIGENETIC REGULATORS AND NOVEL FACTORS WERE IDENTIFIED IN OUR SCREEN. IN THIS STUDY, WE VALIDATED AND CHARACTERIZED A ROLE FOR THE CHROMATIN REMODELLER CHD2 IN MYELOID PROLIFERATION AND MEGAKARYOCYTIC DIFFERENTIATION. 2020 11 6584 14 TRIGGERING RECEPTORS EXPRESSED ON MYELOID CELLS 1 : OUR NEW PARTNER IN HUMAN ONCOLOGY? INFLAMMATION IS RECOGNIZED AS ONE OF THE HALLMARKS OF CANCER. INDEED, STRONG EVIDENCE INDICATES THAT CHRONIC INFLAMMATION PLAYS A MAJOR ROLE IN ONCOGENESIS, PROMOTING GENOME INSTABILITY, EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS, PROLIFERATION AND DISSEMINATION OF CANCER CELLS. MONONUCLEAR PHAGOCYTES (MPS) HAVE BEEN IDENTIFIED AS KEY CONTRIBUTORS OF THE INFLAMMATORY INFILTRATE IN SEVERAL SOLID HUMAN NEOPLASIA, PROMOTING ANGIOGENESIS AND CANCER PROGRESSION. ONE OF THE MOST DESCRIBED AMPLIFIERS OF MPS PRO-INFLAMMATORY INNATE IMMUNE RESPONSE IS THE TRIGGERING RECEPTORS EXPRESSED ON MYELOID CELLS 1 (TREM-1). GROWING EVIDENCE SUGGESTS TREM-1 INVOLVEMENT IN ONCOGENESIS THROUGH CANCER RELATED INFLAMMATION AND THE SURROUNDING TUMOR MICROENVIRONMENT. IN HUMAN ONCOLOGY, HIGH LEVELS OF TREM-1 AND/OR ITS SOLUBLE FORM HAVE BEEN ASSOCIATED WITH POORER SURVIVAL DATA IN SEVERAL SOLID MALIGNANCIES, ESPECIALLY IN HEPATOCELLULAR CARCINOMA AND LUNG CANCER. TREM-1 SHOULD BE CONSIDERED AS A POTENTIAL BIOMARKER IN HUMAN ONCOLOGY AND COULD BE USED AS A NEW THERAPEUTIC TARGET OF INTEREST IN HUMAN ONCOLOGY (TREM-1 INHIBITORS, TREM-1 AGONISTS). MORE CLINICAL STUDIES ARE URGENTLY NEEDED TO CONFIRM TREM-1 (AND TREM FAMILY) ROLES IN THE PROGNOSIS AND THE TREATMENT OF HUMAN SOLID CANCERS. 2022 12 2568 17 EPIGENETICS OF ALCOHOL-RELATED LIVER DISEASES. ALCOHOL-RELATED LIVER DISEASE (ARLD) IS A PRIMARY CAUSE OF CHRONIC LIVER DISEASE IN THE UNITED STATES. DESPITE ADVANCES IN THE DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF ARLD, IT REMAINS A MAJOR PUBLIC HEALTH PROBLEM ASSOCIATED WITH SIGNIFICANT MORBIDITY AND MORTALITY, EMPHASISING THE NEED TO ADOPT NOVEL APPROACHES TO THE STUDY OF ARLD AND ITS COMPLICATIONS. EPIGENETIC CHANGES ARE INCREASINGLY BEING RECOGNISED AS CONTRIBUTING TO THE PATHOGENESIS OF MULTIPLE DISEASE STATES. HARNESSING THE POWER OF INNOVATIVE TECHNOLOGIES FOR THE STUDY OF EPIGENETICS (E.G., NEXT-GENERATION SEQUENCING, DNA METHYLATION ASSAYS, HISTONE MODIFICATION PROFILING AND COMPUTATIONAL TECHNIQUES LIKE MACHINE LEARNING) HAS RESULTED IN A SEISMIC SHIFT IN OUR UNDERSTANDING OF THE PATHOPHYSIOLOGY OF ARLD. KNOWLEDGE OF THESE TECHNIQUES AND ADVANCES IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE FOR THE PRACTICING HEPATOLOGIST AND RESEARCHERS ALIKE. ACCORDINGLY, IN THIS REVIEW ARTICLE WE WILL SUMMARISE THE CURRENT KNOWLEDGE ABOUT ALCOHOL-INDUCED EPIGENETIC ALTERATIONS IN THE CONTEXT OF ARLD, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, DNA HYPER/HYPO METHYLATION, HISTONE MODIFICATIONS, CHANGES IN NON-CODING RNA, 3D CHROMATIN ARCHITECTURE AND ENHANCER-PROMOTER INTERACTIONS. ADDITIONALLY, WE WILL DISCUSS THE STATE-OF-THE-ART TECHNIQUES USED IN THE STUDY OF ARLD (E.G. SINGLE-CELL SEQUENCING). WE WILL ALSO HIGHLIGHT THE EPIGENETIC REGULATION OF CHEMOKINES AND THEIR PROINFLAMMATORY ROLE IN THE CONTEXT OF ARLD. LASTLY, WE WILL EXAMINE THE CLINICAL APPLICATIONS OF EPIGENETICS IN THE DIAGNOSIS AND MANAGEMENT OF ARLD. 2022 13 628 18 BIOLOGICAL AND CLINICAL INSIGHT FROM ANALYSIS OF THE TUMOR B-CELL RECEPTOR STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION IN CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA. THE B-CELL RECEPTOR (BCR) IS ESSENTIAL TO THE BEHAVIOR OF THE MAJORITY OF NORMAL AND NEOPLASTIC MATURE B CELLS. THE IDENTIFICATION IN 1999 OF THE TWO MAJOR CLL SUBSETS EXPRESSING UNMUTATED IMMUNOGLOBULIN (IG) VARIABLE REGION GENES (U-IGHV, U-CLL) OF PRE-GERMINAL CENTER ORIGIN AND POOR PROGNOSIS, AND MUTATED IGHV (M-CLL) OF POST-GERMINAL CENTER ORIGIN AND GOOD PROGNOSIS, IGNITED INTENSIVE INVESTIGATIONS ON STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF THE TUMOR BCR. THESE INVESTIGATIONS HAVE PROVIDED FUNDAMENTAL INSIGHT INTO CLL BIOLOGY AND EVENTUALLY THE MECHANISTIC RATIONALE FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF SUCCESSFUL THERAPIES TARGETING BCR SIGNALING. U-CLL AND M-CLL ARE CHARACTERIZED BY VARIABLE LOW SURFACE IGM (SIGM) EXPRESSION AND SIGNALING CAPACITY. VARIABILITY OF SIGM CAN IN PART BE EXPLAINED BY CHRONIC ENGAGEMENT WITH (AUTO)ANTIGEN AT TISSUE SITES. HOWEVER, OTHER ENVIRONMENTAL ELEMENTS, GENETIC CHANGES, AND EPIGENETIC SIGNATURES ALSO CONTRIBUTE TO THE SIGM VARIABILITY. THE VARIABLE LEVELS HAVE CONSEQUENCES ON THE BEHAVIOR OF CLL, WHICH IS IN A STATE OF ANERGY WITH AN INDOLENT CLINICAL COURSE WHEN SIGM EXPRESSION IS LOW, OR PUSHED TOWARDS PROLIFERATION AND A MORE AGGRESSIVE CLINICAL COURSE WHEN SIGM EXPRESSION IS HIGH. EFFICACY OF THERAPIES THAT TARGET BTK MAY ALSO BE AFFECTED BY THE VARIABLE SIGM LEVELS AND SIGNALING AND, IN PART, EXPLAIN THE DEVELOPMENT OF RESISTANCE. 2022 14 623 20 BIOINFORMATICS FOR CANCER MANAGEMENT IN THE POST-GENOME ERA. HUMAN CANCER IS CAUSED BY MULTIPLE FACTORS, SUCH AS GENETIC PREDISPOSITION, CHRONIC PERSISTENT INFLAMMATION, ENVIRONMENTAL FACTORS, LIFE STYLE, AND AGING. DYSREGULATED PROLIFERATION, DYSREGULATED ADHESION, RESISTANCE TO APOPTOSIS, RESISTANCE TO SENESCENCE, AND RESISTANCE TO ANTI-CANCER DRUGS ARE FEATURES OF CANCER CELLS. ACCUMULATION OF MULTIPLE EPIGENETIC CHANGES AND GENETIC ALTERATIONS OF CANCER-ASSOCIATED GENES DURING MULTI-STAGE CARCINOGENESIS RESULTS IN MORE MALIGNANT PHENOTYPES. POST-GENOME SCIENCE IS CHARACTERIZED BY OMICS DATA RELATED TO GENOME, TRANSCRIPTOME, PROTEOME, METABOLOME, INTERACTOME, AND EPIGENOME AS WELL AS BY HIGH-THROUGHPUT TECHNOLOGY, SUCH AS WHOLE-GENOME TILING OLIGONUCLEOTIDE ARRAY, ARRAY CGH WITH 32,433 OVERLAPPING BAC CLONES, TRANSCRIPTOME MICROARRAY, MASS SPECTROMETRY, TISSUE-BASED EXPRESSION ARRAY, AND CELL-BASED TRANSFECTION ARRAY. BENCHTOP ONCOLOGY SUPPLIES DESKTOP ONCOLOGY WITH LARGE AMOUNTS OF OMICS DATA PRODUCED BY HIGH-THROUGHPUT TECHNOLOGY. DESKTOP ONCOLOGY ESTABLISHES KNOWLEDGE ON CANCER-RELATED BIOMARKERS, SUCH AS PREDISPOSITION MARKERS, DIAGNOSTIC MARKERS, PROGNOSTIC MARKERS, AND THERAPEUTIC MARKERS, BY USING BIOINFORMATICS AND HUMAN INTELLIGENCE OF EXPERTS FOR DATA MINING AND TEXT MINING. BEDSIDE ONCOLOGY APPLIES THE KNOWLEDGE ESTABLISHED BY DESKTOP ONCOLOGY TO DETERMINE THERAPEUTICS FOR CANCER PATIENTS. ANTIBODY DRUGS (TRASTUZUMAB/HERCEPTIN, CETUXIMAB/ERBITUX, BEVACIZUMAB/AVASTIN, ET CETERA), SMALL MOLECULE INHIBITORS FOR TYROSINE KINASES (GEFITINIB/IRESSA, ERLOTINIB/TARCEVA, IMATINIB/GLEEVEC, ET CETERA), CONVENTIONAL CYTOTOXIC DRUGS, AND ANTI-HORMONAL DRUGS ARE USED FOR CANCER CHEMOTHERAPY. BIOMARKER MONITORING CONTRIBUTES TO THERAPEUTIC OPTIONAL CHOICE AND DRUG DOSAGE DETERMINATION FOR CANCER PATIENTS. KNOWLEDGE ON BIOMARKERS IS FEEDFORWARDED FROM DESKTOP TO BEDSIDE IN THE TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH, AND THEN BIOMARKER MONITORING IS FEEDBACKED FROM BEDSIDE TO DESKTOP IN THE REVERSE TRANSLATIONAL RESEARCH. DESKTOP ONCOLOGY IS INDISPENSABLE FOR CANCER RESEARCH IN THE POST-GENOME ERA. COMBINATION OF GENETIC SCREENING FOR CANCER PREDISPOSITION IN THE GENERAL POPULATION AND PRECISE SELECTION OF THERAPEUTIC OPTIONS DURING CANCER MANAGEMENT COULD CONTRIBUTE TO THE REALIZATION OF PERSONALIZED PREVENTION AND TO DRAMATICALLY IMPROVE THE PROGNOSIS OF CANCER PATIENTS IN THE FUTURE. 2006 15 5433 12 REL/NF-KAPPA B/I KAPPA B SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION IN THE GENERATION AND TREATMENT OF HUMAN CANCER. THE REL/NF-KAPPA B FAMILY IS A GROUP OF STRUCTURALLY-RELATED, TIGHTLY-REGULATED TRANSCRIPTION FACTORS THAT CONTROL THE EXPRESSION OF A MULTITUDE OF GENES INVOLVED IN KEY CELLULAR AND ORGANISMAL PROCESSES. THE REL/NF-KAPPA B SIGNAL TRANSDUCTION PATHWAY IS MISREGULATED IN A VARIETY OF HUMAN CANCERS, ESPECIALLY ONES OF LYMPHOID CELL ORIGIN, DUE EITHER TO GENETIC CHANGES (SUCH AS CHROMOSOMAL REARRANGEMENTS, AMPLIFICATIONS, AND MUTATIONS) OR TO CHRONIC ACTIVATION OF THE PATHWAY BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS. CONSTITUTIVE ACTIVATION OF THE REL/NF-KAPPA B PATHWAY CAN CONTRIBUTE TO THE ONCOGENIC STATE IN SEVERAL WAYS, FOR EXAMPLE, BY DRIVING PROLIFERATION, BY ENHANCING CELL SURVIVAL, OR BY PROMOTING ANGIOGENESIS OR METASTASIS. IN MANY CASES, INHIBITION OF REL/NF-KAPPA B ACTIVITY REVERSES ALL OR PART OF THE MALIGNANT STATE. THUS, THE REL/NF-KAPPA B PATHWAY HAS RECEIVED MUCH ATTENTION AS A FOCAL POINT FOR CLINICAL INTERVENTION. 2002 16 3537 17 IMMUNE DYSREGULATION IN KABUKI SYNDROME: A CASE REPORT OF EVANS SYNDROME AND HYPOGAMMAGLOBULINEMIA. KABUKI SYNDROME (KS) IS A RARE MULTISYSTEMIC DISEASE DUE TO MUTATIONS IN THE KMT2D OR KDM6A GENES, WHICH ACT AS EPIGENETIC MODULATORS OF DIFFERENT PROCESSES, INCLUDING IMMUNE RESPONSE. THE SYNDROME IS CHARACTERIZED BY ANOMALIES IN MULTIPLE ORGAN SYSTEMS, AND IT IS ASSOCIATED WITH AUTOIMMUNE AND INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS, AND AN UNDERLYING IMMUNOLOGICAL PHENOTYPE CHARACTERIZED BY IMMUNODEFICIENCY AND IMMUNE DYSREGULATION. UP TO 17% OF KS PATIENTS PRESENT WITH IMMUNE THROMBOCYTOPENIA CHARACTERIZED BY A SEVERE, CHRONIC OR RELAPSING COURSE, AND OFTEN ASSOCIATED TO OTHER HEMATOLOGICAL AUTOIMMUNE DISEASES INCLUDING AUTOIMMUNE HEMOLYTIC ANEMIA, EVENTUALLY RESULTING IN EVANS SYNDROME (ES). A 23-YEAR-OLD WOMAN, CLINICALLY DIAGNOSED WITH KS AND PRESENTING FROM THE AGE OF 3 YEARS WITH ES WAS REFERRED TO THE RARE DISEASES CENTRE OF OUR PEDIATRIC DEPARTMENT FOR CORTICOSTEROID-INDUCED HYPERGLYCEMIA. SEVERAL ES RELAPSES AND RECURRENT RESPIRATORY INFECTIONS IN THE PREVIOUS YEARS WERE REPORTED. SEVERE HYPOGAMMAGLOBULINEMIA, SPLENOMEGALY AND SIGNS OF CHRONIC LUNG INFLAMMATION WERE DIAGNOSED ONLY AT THE TIME OF OUR OBSERVATION. SUPPORTIVE TREATMENT WITH AMOXICILLIN-CLAVULANATE PROPHYLAXIS AND RECOMBINANT HUMAN HYALURONIDASE-FACILITATED SUBCUTANEOUS IMMUNOGLOBULIN REPLACEMENT WERE IMMEDIATELY STARTED. IN KS PATIENTS, THE FAILURE OF B-CELL DEVELOPMENT AND THE LACK OF AUTOREACTIVE IMMUNE CELLS SUPPRESSION CAN LEAD TO IMMUNODEFICIENCY AND AUTOIMMUNITY THAT MAY BE UNDIAGNOSED FOR A LONG TIME. OUR PATIENT'S CASE IS PARADIGMATIC SINCE SHE PRESENTED WITH PREVENTABLE MORBIDITY AND SEVERE LUNG DISEASE YEARS AFTER DISEASE ONSET. THIS CASE EMPHASIZES THE IMPORTANCE OF SUSPECTING IMMUNE DYSREGULATION IN KS. PATHOGENESIS AND IMMUNOLOGICAL COMPLICATIONS OF KS ARE DISCUSSED. MOREOVER, THE NEED TO PERFORM IMMUNOLOGIC EVALUATIONS IS HIGHLIGHTED BOTH AT THE TIME OF KS DIAGNOSIS AND DURING DISEASE FOLLOW-UP, IN ORDER TO ALLOW PROPER TREATMENT WHILE INTERCEPTING AVOIDABLE MORBIDITY IN THESE PATIENTS. 2023 17 493 18 ASSESSMENT OF P53 AND ATM FUNCTIONALITY IN CHRONIC LYMPHOCYTIC LEUKEMIA BY MULTIPLEX LIGATION-DEPENDENT PROBE AMPLIFICATION. THE ATM-P53 DNA-DAMAGE RESPONSE (DDR) PATHWAY HAS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN CHEMORESISTANCE IN CLL, AS INDICATED BY THE ADVERSE PROGNOSTIC IMPACT OF GENETIC ABERRATIONS OF TP53 AND ATM. IDENTIFYING AND DISTINGUISHING TP53 AND ATM FUNCTIONAL DEFECTS HAS BECOME RELEVANT AS EPIGENETIC AND POSTTRANSCRIPTIONAL DYSREGULATION OF THE ATM/P53 AXIS IS INCREASINGLY BEING RECOGNIZED AS THE UNDERLYING CAUSE OF CHEMORESISTANCE. ALSO, SPECIFIC TREATMENTS SENSITIZING TP53- OR ATM-DEFICIENT CLL CELLS ARE EMERGING. WE THEREFORE DEVELOPED A NEW ATM-P53 FUNCTIONAL ASSAY WITH THE AIM TO (I) IDENTIFY AND (II) DISTINGUISH ABNORMALITIES OF TP53 VERSUS ATM AND (III) ENABLE THE IDENTIFICATION OF ADDITIONAL DEFECTS IN THE ATM-P53 PATHWAY. REVERSED TRANSCRIPTASE MULTIPLEX LIGATION-DEPENDENT PROBE AMPLIFICATION (RT-MLPA) WAS USED TO MEASURE ATM AND/OR P53-DEPENDENT GENES AT THE RNA LEVEL FOLLOWING DNA DAMAGE USING IRRADIATION. HERE, WE SHOWED THAT THIS ASSAY IS ABLE TO IDENTIFY AND DISTINGUISH THREE SUBGROUPS OF CLL TUMORS (I.E., TP53-DEFECTIVE, ATM-DEFECTIVE AND WT) AND IS ALSO ABLE TO DETECT ADDITIONAL SAMPLES WITH A DEFECTIVE DDR, WITHOUT MOLECULAR ABERRATIONS IN TP53 AND/OR ATM. THESE FINDINGS MAKE THE ATM-P53 RT-MLPA FUNCTIONAL ASSAY A PROMISING PROGNOSTIC TOOL FOR PREDICTING TREATMENT RESPONSES IN CLL. 2015 18 2761 17 EXPRESSION OF TESTIS-SPECIFIC GENES, TEX101 AND ODF4, IN CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA AND EVALUATION OF TEX101 IMMUNOGENICITY. BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: CANCER-TESTIS (CT) ANTIGENS ARE A GROUP OF ANTIGENS WITH A RESTRICTED EXPRESSION IN NORMAL TISSUES, EXCEPT TESTIS, AND THEY HAVE ABERRANT EXPRESSION IN DIFFERENT TUMORS. THIS PATTERN OF EXPRESSION HAS MADE THEM PROMISING TARGETS FOR IMMUNOTHERAPY AND CANCER DETECTION. OUR AIM WAS TO FIND NEW MEMBERS OF THIS GROUP THAT MIGHT BE USEFUL AS MARKERS IN THE DETECTION OF CANCER AND IMMUNOTHERAPY. DESIGN AND SETTING: A DESCRIPTIVE STUDY CONDUCTED IN REFERRAL CENTERS OF TEHRAN UNIVERSITY OF MEDICAL SCIENCE FROM JANUARY 2008 TO JANUARY 2009. PATIENTS AND METHODS: WE ANALYZED THE EXPRESSION OF TWO TESTIS-SPECIFIC GENES NAMED ODF4 (OUTER DENSE FIBER OF SPERM TAILS 4) AND TEX101 (TESTIS EXPRESSED 101) IN 20 CHRONIC MYELOID LEUKEMIA (CML) AND 20 NORMAL SAMPLES BY REVERSE TRANSCRIPTION-POLYMERASE CHAIN REACTION AND SEQUENCING. IMMUNOGENICITY OF TEX101 WAS EVALUATED BY MEANS OF ENZYME-LINKED IMMUNOSORBENT ASSAY. RESULTS: THESE TWO GENES WERE EXPRESSED IN 30% OF CML PATIENTS BUT NOT IN ANY OF THE HEALTHY DONORS. HUMORAL RESPONSE AGAINST TEX101 WAS NOT DETECTED IN ANY SAMPLES. CONCLUSIONS: TEX101 AND ODF4 ARE CT GENES USEFUL FOR DETECTION OF CML. UNLIKE MANY CT GENES, OVEREXPRESSION OF TEX101 WAS NOT SHOWN TO INDUCE IMMUNOLOGIC RESPONSES IN THESE SAMPLES. ACCORDING TO THE PREVIOUS STUDIES, OVEREXPRESSION OF TEX101 LEADS TO SUPPRESSION OF CANCER INVASION AND METASTASIS; THUS, THE INDUCTION OF THE EXPRESSION OF TEX101 IN CANCER BY EPIGENETIC MECHANISMS MAY BE A TREATMENT STRATEGY. 2012 19 5516 21 RISE OF THE MUTANTS: REPORT FROM THE 19TH CONFERENCE OF THE EUROPEAN HAEMATOLOGY ASSOCIATION, MILAN, 12-15 JUNE 2014. AT THE 19TH CONFERENCE OF THE EUROPEAN HAEMATOLOGY ASSOCIATION IN MILAN, WE SAW THE TRUE AND DRAMATIC CHANGES BROUGHT ABOUT BY THE INTEGRATION OF EXTENSIVE GENOMIC INFORMATION IN CLINICAL PRACTICE, AND THE DILEMMAS THAT ACCOMPANY SUCH A RAPID INCREASE IN KNOWLEDGE. EACH DISEASE IS SLICED MORE AND MORE INTO SMALLER PIECES, EACH WITH ITS OWN BETTER-DETERMINED OUTCOME AND TREATMENT. WE ALSO OBSERVED THE RISE OF MUTANT-SPECIFIC EPIGENETIC AGENTS, WHICH BENEFIT FROM KNOWING THE UNDERLYING GENETIC ABNORMALITY TO SPECIFICALLY ASSIGN AN EPIGENETIC DRUG WHERE IT IS NEEDED. IN CONTRAST TO THE 'ONE MUTATION, ONE DRUG' APPROACH, OTHERS ARE PURSUING THE SEARCH FOR DRUGS TARGETING PATHWAYS FUNDAMENTAL FOR THE SURVIVAL OF ALL OR MOST CANCER CELLS, SOMETIMES LOOKING AT MORE 'EXOTIC' PATHWAYS LIKE NEDDYLATION OR NUCLEAR EXPORT. 2014 20 5213 17 PRESYMPTOMATIC RISK ASSESSMENT FOR CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES. THE PREVALENCE OF COMMON CHRONIC NON-COMMUNICABLE DISEASES (CNCDS) FAR OVERSHADOWS THE PREVALENCE OF BOTH MONOGENIC AND INFECTIOUS DISEASES COMBINED. ALL CNCDS, ALSO CALLED COMPLEX GENETIC DISEASES, HAVE A HERITABLE GENETIC COMPONENT THAT CAN BE USED FOR PRE-SYMPTOMATIC RISK ASSESSMENT. COMMON SINGLE NUCLEOTIDE POLYMORPHISMS (SNPS) THAT TAG RISK HAPLOTYPES ACROSS THE GENOME CURRENTLY ACCOUNT FOR A NON-TRIVIAL PORTION OF THE GERM-LINE GENETIC RISK AND WE WILL LIKELY CONTINUE TO IDENTIFY THE REMAINING MISSING HERITABILITY IN THE FORM OF RARE VARIANTS, COPY NUMBER VARIANTS AND EPIGENETIC MODIFICATIONS. HERE, WE DESCRIBE A NOVEL MEASURE FOR CALCULATING THE LIFETIME RISK OF A DISEASE, CALLED THE GENETIC COMPOSITE INDEX (GCI), AND DEMONSTRATE ITS PREDICTIVE VALUE AS A CLINICAL CLASSIFIER. THE GCI ONLY CONSIDERS SUMMARY STATISTICS OF THE EFFECTS OF GENETIC VARIATION AND HENCE DOES NOT REQUIRE THE RESULTS OF LARGE-SCALE STUDIES SIMULTANEOUSLY ASSESSING MULTIPLE RISK FACTORS. COMBINING GCI SCORES WITH ENVIRONMENTAL RISK INFORMATION PROVIDES AN ADDITIONAL TOOL FOR CLINICAL DECISION-MAKING. THE GCI CAN BE POPULATED WITH HERITABLE RISK INFORMATION OF ANY TYPE, AND THUS REPRESENTS A FRAMEWORK FOR CNCD PRE-SYMPTOMATIC RISK ASSESSMENT THAT CAN BE POPULATED AS ADDITIONAL RISK INFORMATION IS IDENTIFIED THROUGH NEXT-GENERATION TECHNOLOGIES. 2010