A detailed comparison of
gene expression signatures between ETP ALL tumors and and normal human hematopoietic progenitor cells revealed a somewhat surprising finding: ETP - ALL expression patterns were less consistent with early T - cell precursors, as might have been expected, but more similar to the expression profile of normal hematopoietic stem cells and granulocyte macrophage precursors.
For example, the researchers were able to identify previously unknown
gene expression differences
between the neural stem cells that give rise to the brain's deep structures versus its neocortical surface, and to show that molecular
signatures of different neural cell types arise much earlier in brain development than previously realized.