miR181a

Also in the Sepember 15th Blood is an article from Ohio on the micro RNA 181a. To remind you, microRNAs are part of the epigentic mechanism for controling which genes are switched on or off. The most prominent micro RNAs have been miR 15 and 16, which are deleted in patients with del 13q14. miR181a has been looked at by Visone et al in a large number of cases of CLL and they have found that levels fall with progression. This is a dynamic marker that is believed to target MCL1 and BCL2. They find evidence in this paper that TCL1 and AID are also targeted. Future treatment might be directed to restoring miR181a levels.