Analysis of clonality at the level of progenitors in chronic myelogenous leukaemia using the polymerase chain reaction.
The Philadelphia (Ph1) chromosome is a specific structural abnormality in which the abl oncogene is activated due to the formation of the novel chimeric gene, bcr/abl. To investigate the clinicopathological role of bcr/abl in Ph1-positive chronic myelogenous leukaemia (CML), we studied the clonal origin of haematopoietic progenitors by detecting bcr/abl mRNA in a single haematopoietic colony using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Nine patients with CML were examined. In 5 chronic phase patients, all granulocyte/macrophage (CFU-GM) and erythroid (BFU-E) progenitor-derived colonies were positive for bcr/abl mRNA. Colonies in which the transcripts were not detectable were observed in 4 patients. These 4 patients included one patient with a normal karyotype and without splenomegaly, a patient with cyclic oscillation of her white blood cell level, a patient treated with busulfan and interferon-alpha (INF-alpha), and a patient relapsing after allogenic bone marrow transplantation (BMT). Our observations indicate that detection of Ph1-positive clones by PCR may be used to evaluate clinical stages and the effects of treatment in CML.
Sadamura
S
S
Third Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan.
Umemura
T
T
Takahira
H
H
Hirata
J
J
Nishimura
J
J
Nawata
H
H
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001483:Base Sequence; D005260:Female; D016044:Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D014411:Neoplastic Stem Cells / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000378:metabolism; D014410:Tumor Stem Cell Assay
D012333:RNA, Messenger; D016044:Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl