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The article discusses findings of a study on effects of realgar (As4S4) on degradation of promyelocytic leukemia gene (PML)-RARA fusion protein. It states role of PML-RARA as a therapy target of acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL), and mentions that arsenic trioxide cures APL by binding to the PML moiety and triggering the degradation of PML-RARA oncoprotein. It notes that most of the identified arsenic-resistance mutations were found to be located in the PML B2 domain of PML-RARA.

Acute graft-versus-host disease (aGVHD) has become the important complication post-allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Abnormally activated T cells might play an important role in the pathogenesis of aGVHD. But its exact mechanism remains poorly understood. T cell immune response cDNA 7 (TIRC7) has been identified to be essential in T cell activation; however, the role of TIRC7 in aGVHD remains unclear. The purpose of this study was to measure the expression of TIRC7 and T helper (Th) cells in patients with aGVHD before and after treatment. We showed that TIRC7 levels in aGVHD patients were higher than those of healthy controls and markedly declined after treatment. The levels of IFN-γ (Th1), IL-17 (Th17), and IL-22 (Th22) were in accordance with the grade of aGVHD. In addition, TIRC7 levels were also associated with the severity of aGVHD. In conclusion, TIRC7 might be involved in the pathogenesis of aGVHD and TIRC7 level might be an indicator to evaluate the response of patients with aGVHD to treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]