Alterations in the deleted in colorectal carcinoma gene in human primary leukemia

To evaluate the role of the deleted in colorectal carcinoma (DCC) gene in leukemogenesis, we examined loss of heterozygosity (LOH) in the DCC gene in 64 primary human leukemias using Southern blot analysis and examined the expression of the DCC gene using reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis. Allelic loss in the DCC gene was observed in two patients (6%, 2 of 35 informative cases), and expression of the DCC gene was reduced or absent in 8 of 26 (31%) patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML), 3 of 9 (33%) patients with acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), and 7 of 29 (24%) patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). Moreover, in one ALL patient with absent DCC expression at diagnosis, its expression became normal after performing chemotherapy and achieving remission. These findings suggest that inactivation of the DCC gene contributes to some instances of leukemogenesis.