The Role Of Hoxa4 In Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia Progression And Response To Therapy

Chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL) is the most common form of adult leukaemia worldwide. Patients display a highly variable clinical course, with some requiring immediate therapeutic intervention while others can remain untreated for years. We have previously reported that DNA methylation of the homeobox A4 (HOXA4) promoter can serve as part of a three gene prognostic signature with CD38 and BTG4 to predict time to first treatment (TTT) in Stage A patients. HOXA4 encodes a transcription factor that is expressed in haematopoietic progenitor cells and is involved in embryonic development and B-cell differentiation, and its aberrant epigenetic regulation has been identified in multiple forms of leukaemia. In this study we have sought to elucidate the role of HOXA4in the progression of CLL and determine the functional consequences of its expression.