Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is the most common leukemia
among adult population in western country. In the last decade, several findings have
substantially revolutionized the old concept that CLL is a disease originating from
mature, not-dividing cell with indolent clinical course. Notably, next generation sequencing
(NGS) has contributed to deepen the knowledge of the cellular networks
that imply the onset and the progression of CLL. Among genetic aberrations that are
recurrently observed in B-cells from patients with CLL, microRNA deregulation
represented the first epigenetic mechanism that has been identified. Through epigenetic
mechanism they can modulate gene expression and interfere with cellular
pathways that are involved in cell cycle, apoptosis and B-cell receptor (BCR) activation.
Although few studies have shown the prognostic and predictive value of microRNA expression
levels, their validation within prospective clinical trials is warranted.
Keywords: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, del13q, del17p, microRNAs, miR-15, miR-16a.
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