cell markers in the peripheral blood, Catherine Verfaillie and colleagues tested peripheral blood from patients during acute crisis and chronic stages of disease for the presence of primitive hematopoietic progenitors (pages 811819). They found that during acute crisis, patients spontaneously mobilize significant numbers of progenitors with multiple-lineage and repopulation potential into the peripheral blood, suggesting that collection of these progenitors could yield a source of autologous cells suitable for genetic manipulation and subsequent transplantation.

CONTACT:
Catherine M. Verfaillie
University of Minnesota
MMC 716
420 Delaware Street SE
Minneapolis, MN 55455
USA
Phone 1-612-624-3921
Fax 1: 612-624-2436
E-mail: verfa001@tc.umn.edu

View the PDF of this article at: https://www.the-jci.org/press/15956.pdf

Mismatch repair awry in lung cancer

Mutations in DNA mismatch repair genes cause inherited colon cancer syndromes, and somatic mutations and promoter methylation of these genes have been found in a variety of human cancers characterized by microsatellite instability (MSI). Having previously shown that MSI and loss of hMLH1 protein expression is common in lung cancer patients from Taiwan, Yi-Ching Wang and colleagues now report (pages 887895) results from a comprehensive genetic and epigenetic analysis of 77 resected primary non-small cell lung tumors. Of these tumors, 70% had lost expression of either hMLH1 or hMSH2, and promoter methylation seemed to be the predominant cause. Moreover, promoter methylation of hMLH1 (whose expression is lost in over 50% of the samples) appears to be an early event in tumorigenesis and can be detected in sputum samples. Thus it might serve as a potential diagnostic marker.

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Contact: Brooke Grindlinger
science_editor@the-jci.org
212-342-9006
Journal of Clinical Investigation
14-Mar-2003

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