Telomerase activity, apoptosis and cell cycle progression in ataxia telangiectasia lymphocytes expressing TCL1

Individuals affected by ataxia telangiectasia (AT) have a marked susceptibility to cancer. Ataxia telangiectasia cells, in addition to defects in cell cycle checkpoints, show dysfunction of apoptosis and of telomeres, which are both thought to have a role in the progression of malignancy. In 1–5% of patients with AT, clonal expansion of T lymphocytes carrying t(14;14) chromosomal translocation, deregulating TCL1 gene(s), has been described. While it is known that these cells can progress with time to a frank leukaemia, the molecular pathway leading to tumorigenesis has not yet been fully investigated. In this study, we compared AT clonal cells, representing 88% of the entire T lymphocytes (AT94-1) and expressing TCL1 oncogene (ATM(−) TCL1(+)), cell cycle progression to T lymphocytes of AT patients without TCL1 expression (ATM(−) TCL1(−)) by analysing their spontaneous apoptosis rate, spontaneous telomerase activity and telomere instability. We show that in ATM(−) TCL1(+) lymphocytes, apoptosis rate and cell cycle progression are restored back to a rate comparable with that observed in normal lymphocytes while telomere dysfunction is maintained.