Toxicology Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Toxicology, including details on forensic toxicology, carcinogenicity, assays.

New insights into the role of PML in tumour suppression.

Salomoni P, Ferguson BJ, Wyllie AH, Rich T

MRC Toxicology Unit, Lancaster Road Box 138, Leicester, LE 9HN, UK. ps90@le.ac.uk

The PML gene is involved in the t(15;17) translocation of acute promyelocytic leukaemia (APL), which generates the oncogenic fusion protein PML (promyelocytic leukaemia protein)-retinoic acid receptor alpha. The PML protein localises to a subnuclear structure called the PML nuclear domain (PML-ND), of which PML is the essential structural component. In APL, PML-NDs are disrupted, thus implicating these structures in the pathogenesis of this leukaemia. Unexpectedly, recent studies indicate that PML and the PML-ND play a tumour suppressive role in several different types of human neoplasms in addition to APL. Because of PML's extreme versatility and involvement in multiple cellular pathways, understanding the mechanisms underlying its function, and therefore role in tumour suppression, has been a challenging task. In this review, we attempt to critically appraise the more recent advances in this field and propose new avenues of investigation.

Published 2 June 2008 in Cell Res, 18(6): 622-40.
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