Anglo/Dutch group uncovers new leukaemia genes

Research lead

Dutch and British researchers at the Netherlands Cancer Institute, Antoni van Leeuwenhoek Hospital in Amsterdam and the Wellcome Trust Institute in Cambridge, have discovered over 250 new genes that are potentially involved in the development of leukaemia.

To pinpoint the genes that are involved in the development of leukaemia Jaap Kool, Anthony Uren and colleagues investigated 10,000 mutations in 500 leukaemia samples, resulting in the identification of more than 250 new candidate cancer genes.

The researchers are the first to use retroviral insertional mutagenesis (RIM) in combination with high throughput DNA analysis. The RIM technique is based on the ability of retroviruses to incorporate their DNA into the genome of host cells. The integrated viral DNA can influence or disrupt the activity of nearby host genes. If the affected gene is a cancer gene, the viral integration may give rise to the development of a tumour. Host genes that are mutated by the virus can subsequently be identified using DNA analysis.

The combination of RIM with high-throughput DNA analysis enabled the researchers to identify a far larger number of mutations than comparable studies published to date.

Not only did this lead to the identification of more than 250 new candidate cancer genes, it also resulted in the discovery of combinations of cancer genes that are involved in the development of leukaemia.