The significance of hiv rna levels in the cerebrospinal fluid as biomarker of hiv encephalopathy

Mutational activation of cytokine receptors has been described in solid cancers but has not been generally known to drive acute leukemia. We have recently described a subgroup of acute lymphoblastic leukemia characterized by an aberrant expression of the receptor to the cytokine thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP). This receptor is a heterodimer of CRLF2 and IL7RA. In addition to its aberrant expression we discovered a series of activating mutations either in the receptor components themselves or in the signaling JAK1 or JAK2 enzymes. These mutations cause constitutive, ligand independent, activation of JAK-STAT pathway. We have also described the same mutational activation of the interleukin 7 receptor in T-ALL. Inhibitors of these signaling pathways, for example novel JAK inhibitors, could serve as targeted therapies of these bad prognosis leukemias