2013-02-11

Welcome to “This Week in Blood,” a weekly snapshot of the hottest studies from each week’s issue of Blood, the official journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH), hand-picked by Blood Editor-in-Chief Bob Löwenberg, MD, and Deputy Editor Nancy Berliner, MD. If you would like a PDF copy of any of the manuscripts highlighted below or would like to request an interview with the author, please email aslesinski@hematology.org.

Aberrant 3' oligoadenylation of spliceosomal U6 small nuclear RNA in poikiloderma with neutropenia, Hilcenko et al.

In this week’s issue of Blood, researchers elucidate the pathogenesis of poikiloderma with neutropenia, a rare disorder characterized by dermatologic and skeletal abnormalities and neutropenia. In this paper, authors demonstrate that the previously identified causative gene, USB1, is involved in RNA processing and serves to protect the 3’ end of RNA from degradation. Although the direct link between disruption of this function and the disease manifestations remains to be demonstrated, the finding provides important insight into the function of the USB1 gene that will direct future investigation of this disorder.

CUX1 is a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor gene on chromosome 7 frequently inactivated in acute myeloid leukemia, McNerney et al.

Chromosome 7 loss is an adverse feature of acute leukemia and myelodysplasia; however, the specific gene loss that underlies the leukemic phenotype associated with monosomy 7 remains unknown. In this issue of Blood, investigators identify CUX1 as a candidate gene that may serve as a haploinsufficient tumor suppressor gene that contributes to leukemic transformation. In the manuscript researchers demonstrate the haploinsufficiency of CUX1 in both Drosophila and human hematopoietic cells that led to increased proliferation of hematopoietic progenitors and gene expression profiling suggests that CUX1 negatively regulates proliferation by altering cell cycle progression.

Platelet serotonin promotes the recruitment of neutrophils to sites of acute inflammation in mice, Duerschmied et al.

A manuscript in this week’s issue of Blood provides further evidence of the important role of platelets in the innate immunity. Authors demonstrate that serotonin released from platelets contributes to the recruitment of neutrophils to sites of inflammation. This adds to the growing literature on the role of platelets and their granule contents in divergent roles beyond their role in primary hemostasis.

Reporters who wish to receive a copy of any of the manuscripts highlighted above or would like to request an interview with the authors may contact Andrea Slesinski at 202-552-4927 or aslesinski@hematology.org.  

Blood (www.bloodjournal.org), the most cited peer-reviewed publication in the field of hematology, is available weekly in print and online. Blood is the official journal of the American Society of Hematology (ASH) (www.hematology.org), the world’s largest professional society concerned with the causes and treatment of blood disorders.

ASH’s mission is to further the understanding, diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of disorders affecting blood, bone marrow, and the immunologic, hemostatic, and vascular systems by promoting research, clinical care, education, training, and advocacy in hematology.

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