Methylation of the PTEN gene CpG island is infrequent in juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia: Comments on 'PTEN deficiency is a common defect in juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia' (Leuk. Res. 2009;33:671-677 (Epub 2008 November 17)).

摘要

In this journal, Liu et al. recently reported deficient PTEN tumor suppressor gene expression as a common finding in juvenile myelomonocytic leukemia cells [1]. In the absence of PTEN gene mutations, and based on data generated by methylation-specific PCR, the authors suggested that DNA hypermethylation in the 5' upstream region of the PTEN gene was responsible for deficient gene expression in 23 of 30 patients investigated (77%). If confirmed, this would be an important observation, being the first implication of epigenetic dysregulation in the cellular phenotype of JMML.