Research / Clinical
Summary
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Laura Rassenti, PhD
Project Scientist, Medicine
Hematologic Malignancies Program
Contact by Email
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Diseases/Research Topics
B cells, Chronic lymphocytic leukemia, Familial CLL Studies, Genetics, Immunoglobulin Genetics, Prognostic Markers, ZAP-70
Dr. Rassenti’s research focuses on the biology of Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL). CLL is the most common form of adult leukemia in the Western hemisphere, representing about 30% of all leukemias. It is characterized by the accumulation of mature monoclonal B lymphocytes in the blood, marrow and lymphoid tissue.
Several CLL cell characteristics are associated with relatively aggressive disease. These include absence of IgVH somatic mutations, expression of CD38, or multiple cytogenetic abnormalities. Currently it is established that expression of unmutated IgVH is associated with aggressive disease. The two CLL subtypes can be distinguished from each other through the differential expression of a small number of genes, one of which encodes ZAP-70, an intracellular tyrosine kinase that plays a critical role in T cell receptor signaling.
Recent studies published by Dr. Rassenti & co-investigators found that ZAP-70 is associated with enhanced Ig-receptor signaling in leukemic B cells, irrespective of IgVH mutational status, and that expression of ZAP-70 can be used as a surrogate for Ig VH gene mutational status to predict the clinical outcome of CLL patients.
Dr. Rassenti has also contributed in studies on the role of MicroRNA genes in CLL with Dr. Carlos Croce’s lab (Ohio State University), and this has resulted in a publication in PNAS. Dr. Rassenti is also studying the genetics & epidemiology of Familial CLL in collaborations with Dr. N. Caporaso, Section Chief Genetics Epidemiology at NCI and Drs. Kay and Slager at the Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN.
Dr. Rassenti is the Director of the Tissue Core of the CLL Research Consortium (CRC) at the Moores Cancer Center. The CRC is a multi-institutional national program that collects & stores blood specimens from leukemia patients from six national medical centers and allows for interactive research to study of the biological basis of this leukemia.
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