A loss-of-function polymorphic mutation in the cytolytic P2X7 receptor gene and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia: a molecular study

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) has a familial incidence nearly three times higher than expected for the general population and one predisposing factor might be an inherited failure of mechanisms involved in apoptosis of lymphocytes. Our aim was to ascertain whether or not a defect in a proapoptotic pathway, caused by a single nucleotide polymorphism that results in loss-of-function of P2X7 in healthy individuals, was present in leukaemic B lymphocytes of patients with CLL. METHODS: We extracted genomic DNA from the peripheral blood leucocytes of 36 unrelated individuals with CLL, four individuals with familial CLL, and 46 age-matched controls. We sequenced a PCR product to d..