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Philadelphia-positive (Ph+) B-cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia (BCP-ALL) is a genetically heterogeneous disease with a very poor prognosis. In this study, we analyzed the frequency of supernumerary Ph, trisomy 8, monosomy 7, and del(9p21) by FISH and its relationship with the characteristics of the disease, in 46 BCR/ABL+ adult BCP-ALL patients. The frequency of supernumerary Ph, trisomy 8, monosomy 7 and del(9p21) was 30%, 20%, 15%, and 24%, respectively. Although all patients displayed a BII/common phenotype, supernumerary Ph and trisomy 8 were associated with higher expression of CD19 and CD22 and of CD19, CD34, CD45, and HLA-DR, respectively; in turn, cases with monosomy 7 showed lower CD19, CD22, CD34, and cCD79a and del(9p21)+ blasts were CD13- and CD33-. Overall, similar clinical and hematological features were observed at presentation, independently of the underlying genetic abnormalities. However, relapse-free survival (RFS) was significantly shorter in cases with supernumerary Ph, trisomy 8, and del(9p21), the latter being the most powerful independent prognostic factor for RFS.Leukemia (2005) 19, 713-720. doi:10.1038/sj.leu.2403714 Published online 24 March 2005 [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Virulence (≡ severity of disease) and physiological specialization of nine isolates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli recovered in El Barco de Avila (Castilla y León, west-central Spain) and of two isolates from Chryssoupolis (Greece) were determined. The susceptibility/resistance response showed by a differential set of common bean cultivars (Phaseolus vulgaris) selected at the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropical (CIAT) delineated the isolates into two new races: races 6 and 7. The results of pathogenicity tests did not show any significant differences in virulence among the isolates. However, the reactions of several Spanish common bean cultivars indicated the presence of two groups of isolates, highly virulent and weakly virulent, among the Spanish isolates analysed. These results indicate that isolates classified in the same race are not homogeneous with respect to virulence, and suggests that race analysis using the CIAT differential cultivars is insufficient to describe the physiological specialization of E oxysporum f. sp. phaseoli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Philadelphia chromosome (Ph+) reflects a balanced reciprocal translocation between the long arms of chromosomes 9 and 22 [t(9;22)(q34;q11.2] involving the BCR and ABL genes. At present, detection of BCR/ABL gene rearrangements is mandatory in precursor-B-ALL patients at diagnosis for prognostic stratification and treatment decision. In spite of the clinical impact, no screening method, displaying a high sensitive and specificity, is available for the identification of BCR/ABL+ precursor-B-ALL cases. The aim of the present study was to explore the immunophenotypic characteristics of precursor B-ALL cases displaying BCR/ABL gene rearrangements using multiple stainings analyzed by quantitative flow cytometry in order to rapidly (<1 h) identify unique phenotypes associated with this translocation. From the 82 precursor-B-ALL cases included in the study 12 displayed BCR/ABL gene rearragements, all corresponding to adult patients, four of which also displayed DNA aneuploidy. Our results show that BCR/ABL+ precursor B-ALL cases constantly displayed a homogeneous expression of CD10 and CD34 but low and relatively heterogeneous CD38 expression, together with an aberrant reactivity for CD13. In contrast, this unique phenotype was only detected in three out of 70 BCR/ABL cases. Therefore, the combined use of staining patterns for CD34, CD38 and CD13 expression within CD10-positive blast cells is highly suggestive of BCR/ABL gene rearrangements in adults with precursor B-ALL. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last decade, proteomics has undergone remarkable progress thanks to the technical advances made in the field. Improvements in the design of the protein microarrays, including more types of chemical groups for surface functionalization, new capture agents and novel detection strategies, among others, have allowed the detection of proteins in a robust, specific, sensitive, real time and high throughput manner. However, there are still problems that hinder the analysis of low abundance proteins or those present in complex samples. For this reason, the development of patents related to the features mentioned above has an important relevance. In this review, we focus on the study of recently approved patents that try to solve the existing problems. Thanks to them, it is expected that the identification of disease biomarkers can be made in a suitable and reliable way, and above all, biocompatible and environmentally friendly.