As the P2RY8 locus is modified in several other types of cancer in addition to GCB-DLBCL and Burkitt lymphoma, we speculate that GGG might have organizing and growth-regulatory roles in multiple human tissues.
The incomplete phenocopy of Gα13- and S1PR2 deficiency led us to discover that P2RY8, an orphan receptor that is mutated in GCB-DLBCL and another germinal centre B-cell-derived malignancy, Burkitt's lymphoma, also represses germinal centre B-cell growth and promotes confinement via Gα13.
Our strain of mice, with inducible deficiency of β-glucocerebrosidase in haematopoietic cells and a high frequency of sporadic lethal B cell malignancies, faithfully recapitulates human Gaucher's disease: it serves as a tractable model to investigate the putative role of bioactive sphingolipids in the control of B cell proliferation and the pathogenesis of myelomatosis-the most prevalent human cancer associated with this disorder.
GCET2 (Germinal centre B-cell expressed transcript 2; also named HGAL) is a newly cloned gene that has been shown to be a useful marker for germinal centre (GC) B cells and GC B-cell derived malignancies, including follicular lymphomas and germinal centre B cell-like diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (GCB-DLBCLs), and is a useful prognosticator for DLBCLs.
This paper describes the use of N-GBA arrays designed to scan the sequence of a 33 base region of exon 8 of the p53 gene (codons 272-282) encompassing a hot spot for mutations associated with the development of cancer.