Investigation of bcr-abl transcription by Ph-positive chronic myeloid leukemia progenitors.
It is now feasible to investigate bcr-abl transcription by the progeny of Ph-positive (Ph+) early and committed hemopoietic progenitor cells from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). Cells from individual colonies can be bisected and each half analyzed by cytogenetics or the reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method to detect the bcr-abl transcript using internal nested oligonucleotide primers that flank the chimeric gene junction. We previously showed that some Ph+ colonies have undetectable PCR products for bcr-abl. When colonies are generated in the presence of alpha interferon (IFN-alpha) bcr-abl transcripts are undetectable in the majority of Ph+ colonies. These data suggest a potential mechanism for the action of IFN-alpha in Ph+ CML and indicate the need for a combined approach with cytogenetics and RT-PCR in analyzing the bcr-abl gene.
Keating
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Toronto Hospital, Ontario, Canada.
D004273:DNA, Neoplasm / Q000737:chemistry; D016044:Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D006412:Hematopoietic Stem Cells / Q000737:chemistry / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D015464:Leukemia, Myelogenous, Chronic, BCR-ABL Positive / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D014158:Transcription, Genetic
D004273:DNA, Neoplasm; D016044:Fusion Proteins, bcr-abl