Profiling Peripheral T Cell Lymphoma For Clues To Its Pathogenesis

Main Category: Lymphoma / Leukemia / Myeloma
Also Included In: Biology / Biochemistry
Article Date: 21 Feb 2007 - 13:00 PDT

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Peripheral T cell lymphoma, unspecified (PCTL/U) is the most common and aggressive non-Hodgkin's lymphoma that derives from neoplastic T cells. PCTL/U patients do not respond well to currently used chemotherapy. In a study appearing online in advance of publication in the March print issue of the Journal of Clinical Investigation, Stefano Pileri and colleagues from the University of Bolgona compared the gene expression profile of PTCL/Us obtained from patient tissue with that of normal T cells and report that PCTL/Us are most closely related to either CD4+ or CD8+ activated peripheral T lymphocytes. The authors found that, compared to normal T cells, PCTL/Us display deregulation of a number of cell programs involved in tumorigenesis, including apoptosis and cell proliferation.

The authors also found that PCTL/Us aberrantly express the tyrosine kinase receptor PDGFRalpha and this receptor may therefore play a role in PCTL/U pathogenesis. They went on to show that PDGFRalpha phosphorylation was sensitive to the drug imatinib (Gleevec). PDGFRalpha inhibition should thus be examined in future clinical studies.

TITLE: Gene expression analysis of peripheral T cell lymphoma, unspecified, reveals distinct profiles and new potential therapeutic targets

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Stefano A. Pileri
University of Bologna, Bologna, Italy.

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JCI table of contents: February 15, 2006

Contact: Karen Honey
Journal of Clinical Investigation

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