Translocation of the BCL2 gene in B-cell malignancies carrying t(14;18) and amplification of the BCL2 gene in a cell line (HBL-2) derived from a non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) were detected specifically in both metaphase spreads and interphase nuclei by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) using yeast artificial chromosomes (YACs). A YAC clone containing the BCL2 gene yA153A6, a 360-kb clone...

The BCL6 proto-oncogene encodes a transcriptional repressor that is required for germinal center (GC) formation and whose deregulation by genomic lesions is implicated in the pathogenesis of GC-derived diffuse large B cell lymphoma (DLBCL) and, less frequently, follicular lymphoma (FL). The biological function of BCL6 is only partially understood because no more than a few genes have been funct...

The t(12;21) translocation generating the ETV6/RUNX1 fusion gene represents the most frequent chromosomal rearrangement in childhood leukemia. Presence of ETV6/RUNX1 alone is usually not sufficient for leukemia onset, and additional genetic alterations have to occur in ETV6/RUNX1-positive cells to cause transformation. We have previously generated an ETV6/RUNX1 transgenic mouse model where the ...

Previous studies on peritoneal plasmacytomas (PCTs) in BALB/c (C) mice suggested that the enforced expression of the death repressor BCL2 in B cells might facilitate the malignant transformation of aberrant B cells containing Myc-activating T(12;15) translocations, generating an improved model of plasmacytomagenesis. To investigate this hypothesis, we backcrossed a human BCL2 transgene onto str...

The 279-bp major breakpoint region (mbr) within the 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) of the BCL2 gene is a binding site of special AT-rich sequence binding protein 1 (SATB1) that is well known to participate in the long-range regulation of gene transcription. Our previous studies have revealed that the mbr could regulate BCL2 transcription over a 200-kb distance and this regulatory function was ...

As a population, non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL) cell lines positive for the t(14;18) translocation and/or possessing elevated BCL2 copy number (CN; BCL2(High)) are exquisitely sensitive to navitoclax or the B-cell lymphoma protein-2 (BCL-2)-selective inhibitor venetoclax. Despite this, some BCL2(High) cell lines remain resistant to either agent. Here we show that the MCL-1-specific inhibitor A-12...

Due to their central role in the regulation of apoptosis, the antiapoptotic BCL2-proteins are highly promising targets for the development of novel anticancer treatments. To this end, several strategies have been developed to inhibit BCL2, BCL-XL, BCL-w, and MCL1. While early clinical trials in haematological malignancies demonstrated exciting single-agent activity of BCL2-inhibitors, the respo...

Since the discovery of apoptosis as a form of programmed cell death, targeting the apoptosis pathway to induce cancer cell death has been a high-priority goal for cancer therapy. After decades of effort, drug-discovery scientists have succeeded in generating small-molecule inhibitors of antiapoptotic BCL2 family proteins. Innovative medicinal chemistry and structure-based drug design, coupled w...

Antisense oligodeoxynucleotides specific for sequences in mRNAs from the B-cell lymphoma/leukemia-2 (BCL2) gene were used to inhibit the growth in culture of a human leukemia cell line, 697. Normal phosphodiester (PO) and nuclease-resistant phosphorothioate (PS) oligodeoxynucleotides were compared with regard to specificity, potency, and kinetics. Both PO and PS antisense BCL2 oligodeoxynucleot...

AIM To explore the association between FOXP1, BCL2, and BCL6 gene expression in diffuse large B-cell lymphoma tumor cells and their association with the presence of FOXP3 lymphocytes. METHODS Samples of lymph nodes from 53 patients with newly diagnosed diffuse large B-cell lymphoma were taken at the time of the diagnosis and immunostained for CD10, MUM1, BCL6, BCL2, FOXP1, and FOXP3. Fluoresc...