Submitted December 23, 2008
Accepted February 8, 2009
Aberrant expression of the homeobox gene CDX2 in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia
Tamara Riedt, Martin Ebinger, Helmut R. Salih, Jurgen Tomiuk, Rupert Handgretinger, Lothar Kanz, Frank Grunebach, and Claudia Lengerke*
Department of Hematology/Oncology, University of Tuebingen Medical Center II, Tuebingen, Germany
Department of Hematology/Oncology, University of Tuebingen Children's Hospital, Tuebingen, Germany
Division of General Human Genetics, Institute of Human Genetics, University of Tuebingen, Tuebingen, Germany
* Corresponding author; email: claudia.lengerke{at}med.uni-tuebingen.de.
Members of the caudal (cdx) family of homeobox proteins are essential regulators of embryonic blood development in zebrafish. Previously we reported that the murine homologues (Cdx1, Cdx2 and Cdx4) affect formation and differentiation of embryonic stem cell (ESC)-derived hematopoietic progenitor cells. Consistent with the notion that embryonic pathways can reactivate during adult oncogenesis, recent studies suggest involvement of CDX2 in human acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Here we study CDX2 in normal and leukemic human lymphoid cells, and show that a majority of leukemic samples display various degrees of aberrant CDX2 expression. Analysis of a cohort of 37 childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients treated in our hospital revealed that high CDX2 expression levels at diagnosis correlate with persistance of minimal residual disease (MRD) during the course of treatment. Thus, CDX2 expression levels may serve as marker for adverse prognosis in pediatric ALL.
