JCI table of contents: Feb. 21, 2008

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=32865

ACCOMPANYING COMMENTARY
TITLE: Currying favor for the heart

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Jonathan A. Epstein
University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Phone: (215) 898-8731; Fax: (215) 573-2094; E-mail: .

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=34650

ONCOLOGY: A white-cell paradox: a mutation in patients with too few white blood cells may lead to leukemia

Neutropenia is a disease characterized by low numbers of white blood cells called neutrophils and a propensity toward developing life-threatening bacterial infections. A high proportion of patients who have severe congenital neutropenia have mutations in their CSFR3 gene, which is responsible for making the protein G-CSFR, and these mutations are believed to be responsible for leukemia progression in these patients. To explore the mechanisms underlying this relationship, Daniel Link and his colleagues at Washington University, St. Louis, studied mice carrying mutated Csf3r genes. They observed the enhanced proliferation of hematopoietic stem cells carrying these mutations, but only in the presence of the related protein G-CSF and activation of STAT5 proteins. As G-CSF is the only effective therapy for severe congenital neutropenia, the authors warn that its use may exacerbate or even cause leukemia in these patients. In an accompanying commentary, Grover Bagby at the Northwest Veteran's Affairs Medical Center, Portland, suggest that this study may help pave the way for 'molecularly targeted leukemia prevention for patients at high risk'.

TITLE: Csf3r mutations in mice confer a strong clonal HSC advantage via activation of Stat5

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Daniel C. Link
Washington University, St. Louis, Missouri, USA.
Phone: (314) 362-8771; Fax: (314) 362-9333; E-mail: .

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=32704

ACCOMPANYING COMMENTARY
TITLE: Discovering early molecular determinants of leukemogenesis

AUTHOR CONTACT:
Grover C. Bagby
Northwest Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Portland, Oregon, USA.
Phone: (503) 494-0524; Fax: (503) 494-7086; E-mail: .

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/article.php?id=35109

ONCOLOGY: Immune system versus solid tumor: an example of the immune system winning