Title |
A Soluble Form of CTLA-4 Is Present in Paediatric Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia and Correlates with CD1d+ Expression
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Published in |
PLOS ONE, September 2012
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DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.0044654 |
Pubmed ID | |
Authors |
Rita Simone, Claudya Tenca, Franco Fais, Matteo Luciani, Giulio De Rossi, Giampaola Pesce, Marcello Bagnasco, Daniele Saverino |
Abstract |
CTLA-4 is a key factor in regulating and maintaining self tolerance, providing a negative signal to the T cell and thus limiting immune responses. Several polymorphisms within the CTLA-4 gene have been associated with an increased risk of developing autoimmune diseases and, very recently, with susceptibility to human cancer. Acute lymphoblastic leukemia is a clonal disorder of lymphoid progenitors representing the most frequent malignancy of childhood. Here, we show the presence at significantly elevated levels of a circulating soluble form of CTLA-4 in 70% of B-ALL pediatric patients with active disease, the positive correlation between the percentage of leukemic B lymphocytes and the amount of serum sCTLA-4, and the expression of sCTLA-4 transcript by B cells in patients. Finally, a correlation between CD1d expression (a negative prognostic marker) and the sCTLA-4 in B-ALL patients was observed. This suggests a possible role of this soluble molecule as a marker of progression or severity of the neoplastic disease. |
Mendeley readers
Geographical breakdown
Country | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Unknown | 39 | 100% |
Demographic breakdown
Readers by professional status | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Professor > Associate Professor | 5 | 13% |
Student > Bachelor | 5 | 13% |
Student > Ph. D. Student | 4 | 10% |
Student > Postgraduate | 4 | 10% |
Student > Master | 3 | 8% |
Other | 6 | 15% |
Unknown | 12 | 31% |
Readers by discipline | Count | As % |
---|---|---|
Medicine and Dentistry | 8 | 21% |
Immunology and Microbiology | 8 | 21% |
Agricultural and Biological Sciences | 5 | 13% |
Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology | 3 | 8% |
Unspecified | 1 | 3% |
Other | 0 | 0% |
Unknown | 14 | 36% |