Leukemia

The term leukemia covers a spectrum of diseases called hematological neoplasms, but mostly refers to cancer of the blood or bone marrow characterized by an abnormal increase in immature white blood cell numbers. Clinical and pathological subtypes of leukemia define both its onset (Acute or Chronic) and the affected blood cell type (Lymphoblastic/Lymphocytic or Myeloid/Myelogenous). Leukemia features dysregulated molecular and biological pathways responsible for normal blood cell function including inflammation, immune responses, JAK/STAT signaling, and lymphocyte and myeloid cell development. Differentiation of the affected cells from lymphopoietic and erythropoietic stem cells has led to the concept of leukemia stem cells, reinforcing the importance of transcription factors regulating differentiation. Dysregulated gene expression, mutations, and differentially methylated promoters are routinely detected in molecular analyses of leukemia samples. Analyzing and monitoring these affected pathways may lead to a better understanding of the molecular mechanisms behind leukemia development, classification, and therapeutic response.

QIAGEN provides a broad range of assay technologies for leukemia research that enables analysis of gene expression and regulation, epigenetic modification, genotyping, and signal transduction pathway activation. Solutions optimized for leukemia studies include PCR array, miRNA, siRNA, mutation analysis, pathway reporter, chromatin IP, DNA methylation, and protein expression products.