In the present study, increased levels of ANKHD1 mRNA and protein expression in leukemia cell lines are reported, as compared with normal hematopoietic cells. Furthermore, a higher expression of ANKHD1 mRNA was detected in primary acute leukemia samples than in normal hematopoietic cells (P=0.002). ANKHD1 was detected in the cytosolic and membrane fraction of cells and was co-immumoprecipitated with SHP2 in protein extracts of K562 and LNCaP cell lines. These findings suggest a role for ANKHD1 as a scaffolding protein that may be associated with the abnormal phenotype of leukemia cells. (c) 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.17629828834