Expression of the p75 neurotrophin receptor in acute leukaemia

The dLNGFR is a cytoplasmically deleted form of the low-affinity nerve growth factor receptor (LNGFR, also known as p75NTR). Recently, we observed a myeloid leukaemia in mice transplanted with dLNGFR-modified bone marrow cells. Retroviral-mediated expression of dLNGFR was suspected to contribute to the murine leukaemia. This led us to investigate the expression of p75NTR in human leukaemia. Expression of p75NTR was observed in nine of 119 (8%) adult patients with acute leukaemia by flow cytometry analysis, particularly in acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (26%). These results support further detailed analyses of neurotrophin receptors and downstream signalling pathways in haematological malignancies.