Diagnosing and Treating Hematopoietic Cancers

• US 20080090245A1
• Filed: 10/18/2007
• Published: 04/17/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 11/21/2002
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: University Of Massachusetts
• Original Assignee: University Of Massachusetts
• Inventors: Jones, Stephen, Pihan, German, Liang, Huiling
• Granted Patent: US 7,723,055 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 435/6.16
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 1/6886 for cancer immunoassay for cancer G01N33/574
• CPC Class Codes: C12Q 2600/136 Screening for pharmacological compounds

Abstract

Described herein are methods and compositions comprising Wnt5a for the diagnosis and treatment of hematopoietic cancers, and methods of identifying therapeutic compounds for the treatment of hematopoietic cancers.

Claims

1. A method of determining whether a subject has, or is at risk of developing, a hematopoietic cancer associated with a reduction in wingless-related MMTV integration site 5a (Wnt5a) gene expression or activity or protein activity, the method comprising:

providing a biological sample comprising a test cell from the subject; and

determining the level of Wnt5a gene expression or activity or protein activity within the test cell,

wherein a reduced level of Wnt5a gene expression or activity or protein activity in the test cell, relative to that in a control cell, indicates that the subject has, or is at risk of developing, a hematopoietic cancer.

2. The method of claim 1, further comprising:

communicating the level of Wnt5a expression to a physician or other health care provider.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the subject is a human patient.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the hematopoietic cancer is selected from the group consisting of leukemia, lymphoma, and myeloma.

5. The method of claim 4, wherein the leukemia is acute leukemia or chronic leukemia.

6. The method of claim 5, wherein the acute leukemia is acute myeloid leukemia or acute lymphoblast leukemia.

7. The method of claim 5, wherein the lymphoma is selected from the group consisting of Hodgkin'"'"'s and non-Hodgkin'"'"'s Lymphoma.

8. The method of claim 7, wherein the non-Hodgkin'"'"'s Lymphoma is selected from the group consisting of B cell lymphoma, Burkitt'"'"'s lymphoma, diffuse cell lymphoma, follicular lymphoma, immunoblastic large cell lymphoma, lymphoblastic lymphoma, mantle cell lymphoma, mycosis fungoides, post-transplantation lymphoproliferative disorder, small non-cleaved cell lymphoma, and T-cell lymphoma.

9. The method of claim 1, wherein the test cell is a type of cell that becomes malignant in a hematopoietic cancer.

10. The method of claim 1, wherein one or both of the test cell or the control cell is a B cell, a T cell, an eosinophil, basophil, erythrocyte, neutrophil, granulocyte, or monocyte.

11. The method of claim 1, further comprising culturing one or both of the test cell and the control cell before determining the level of expression or activity of Wnt5a.

12. The method of claim 1, wherein determining the level of Wnt5a gene expression or activity, or protein expression or activity, comprises:

exposing mRNA isolated from the test cell to a Wnt5a-specific nucleic acid primer or probe;

or

exposing protein isolated from the test cell to a Wnt5a-specific antibody.

13. The method of claim 1, wherein one or both of the test cell and the control cell is a human cell.

14. The method of claim 1, wherein one or both of the test cell and the control cell is a lymphoid cell or a myeloid cell.