Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 16, 2026

Intracellular Phosphoflow Cytometry of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient-Derived Xenotransplants
07:38

Intracellular Phosphoflow Cytometry of Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patient-Derived Xenotransplants

Published on: June 6, 2025

Paradoxical down-regulation of p16 mRNA with advancing age in acute myeloid leukemia

Hendrik J M de Jonge1, Carolien M Woolthuis, Eveline S J M de Bont

  • 1Division of Pediatric Oncology/Hematology, Department of Pediatrics, Beatrix Children's Hospital, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.

Aging
|February 17, 2010
PubMed

Insights

Aging results from stem cell loss, partly due to tumor suppressor pathways. We found that decreased p16(INK4a) in older acute myeloid leukemia cells may promote cancer development in aging individuals.

Area of Science:

  • Oncology
  • Aging Research
  • Cellular Biology

Background:

  • Aging is linked to stem cell attrition and the activation of tumor suppressor pathways like p16(INK4a).
  • p16(INK4a) expression increases with age and acts as a cancer suppressor.
  • Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) blasts exhibit distinct age-related expression patterns of p16(INK4a) compared to healthy cells.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the role of p16(INK4a) in age-related oncogenesis.
  • To test the hypothesis that suppressed cellular defense mechanisms in older individuals facilitate cancer development.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of p16(INK4a) mRNA expression in AML blasts across different age groups.
  • Comparison of p16(INK4a) expression in AML cells versus healthy cells.

Main Results:

  • AML-derived blasts show down-regulation of p16(INK4a) mRNA with increasing age.
  • This contrasts with the typical age-related increase in p16(INK4a) observed in healthy cells.

Conclusions:

  • Suppression of age-related defense mechanisms, such as p16(INK4a) expression, may contribute to oncogenesis in older individuals.
  • This finding suggests a potential mechanism linking aging, immune suppression, and cancer risk.
Keywords:
Acute Myeloid Leukemiaagingp16INK4asenescence

More Related Videos

Describing a Transcription Factor Dependent Regulation of the MicroRNA Transcriptome07:23

Describing a Transcription Factor Dependent Regulation of the MicroRNA Transcriptome

Published on: June 15, 2016

Induction and Validation of Cellular Senescence in Primary Human Cells08:18

Induction and Validation of Cellular Senescence in Primary Human Cells

Published on: June 20, 2018

Related Concept Videos

Abnormal Proliferation02:23

Abnormal Proliferation

Under normal conditions, most adult cells remain in a non-proliferative state unless stimulated by internal or external factors to replace lost cells. Abnormal cell proliferation is a condition in which the cell's growth exceeds and is uncoordinated with normal cells. In such situations, cell division persists in the same excessive manner even after cessation of the stimuli, leading to persistent tumors. The tumor arises from the damaged cells that replicate to pass the damage to the daughter...
Negative Regulator Molecules01:23

Negative Regulator Molecules

Positive regulators allow a cell to advance through cell cycle checkpoints. Negative regulators have an equally important role as they terminate a cell’s progression through the cell cycle—or pause it—until the cell meets specific criteria.
MicroRNAs01:22

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns (non-coding regions of a gene) or intergenic regions (stretches of DNA present between genes). Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself, forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA...
MicroRNAs01:22

MicroRNAs

MicroRNA (miRNA) are short, regulatory RNA transcribed from introns—non-coding regions of a gene—or intergenic regions—stretches of DNA present between genes. Several processing steps are required to form biologically active, mature miRNA. The initial transcript, called primary miRNA (pri-mRNA), base-pairs with itself forming a stem-loop structure. Within the nucleus, an endonuclease enzyme, called Drosha, shortens the stem-loop structure into hairpin-shaped pre-miRNA. After the pre-miRNA ends...
Receptor Downregulation in MVBs01:15

Receptor Downregulation in MVBs

Multivesicular bodies (MVBs) are mature endosomes that sort ubiquitinated proteins and then fuse with lysosomes to degrade the sorted proteins. Epidermal growth factor (EGF) and its receptor (EGFR) form a complex that can be internalized through endocytosis, sorted into an MVB, and later degraded.
The EGFR can initiate signaling pathways that  lead to cell proliferation, migration, and differentiation. Overexpression of EGFR  stimulates cells to proliferate. Excessive  EGFR activation may...
Inhibition of Cdk Activity02:34

Inhibition of Cdk Activity

The orderly progression of the cell cycle depends on the activation of Cdk protein by binding to its cyclin partner. However, the cell cycle must be restricted when undergoing abnormal changes. Most cancers correlate to the deregulated cell cycle, and since Cdks are a central component of the cell cycle, Cdk inhibitors are extensively studied to develop anticancer agents. For instance, cyclin D associates with several Cdks, such as Cdk 4/6, to form an active complex. The cyclin D-Cdk4/6 complex...