Dependence Receptors and Leukemia

Acute leukaemias (AL) are the first cause of cancer in children, with a majority of B acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). Some of the processes causing leukemogenesis are already identified and well characterized in some AL subtypes such as translocation t (12; 21) of good prognosis in ALL. However, translocations are not sufficient to explain all the different processes of leukemogenesis, and other processes such as genetic / epigenetic mutations leading to oncogene activation / inhibition of tumor suppressor genes are the object research. Among the latter, mutations in tumor suppressor genes such as DCC (Deleted in Colorectal Cancer) have recently been identified in solid cancers, such as in hemopathies. This gene was subsequently characterized as encoding a "dependence receptor" specifically binding to its Netrin-1 ligand. Dependence receptors (RDs) are transmembrane receptors that cause cell death in the absence of their ligand. RD decreases tumor progression and overexpression of their ligands is observed in many cancers, such as B lymphomatous hemopathies in adults. Inhibition of the RD-ligand interaction constitutes a new and original therapeutic target in oncology. The aim of this study is to investigate whether RDs, in particular DCC, are expressed in acute leukemia cells at the time of diagnosis or relapse in patients aged 1 to 18 years, and then in these patients at the time of the remission balance. This research will be both qualitative and quantitative.