T-cell lineage differentiation antigens and T-cell maturation sequence in the management of T-acute leukemia patients.

Project leader: Ján Kusenda
Project duration: 2010 - 2012

The main aim of this project is the extension of our existing studies using multiparameter flow cytometry for precise description of markers of normal leukocytes and leukemia cells. Recently, large studies have been allowed to gain new knowledge about the maturation stages of hematopoietic cells. Each acute leukemia clone represents one of those stages through maturation blockade and is suitable for studying an amount of cells never obtainable in normal bone marrow. We shall primarily identify prognostic factors for the follow-up of the patients with T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia in remission and use immunophenotyping in the context of physiological T-lymphocyte maturation. For the complementation of the T-cell malignancy diagnosis molecular genetic techniques of TCR genes will be simultaneously performed. We propose that if the project is performed successfully, both, the useful prognostic markers for T-ALL patients and a reasonable and the more complex summary of T-cell maturation schemes will be expected.

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