[Study of thrombopoietin and its receptor C-mpl in acute leukemia].
OBJECTIVE
To study the expression of C-mpl gene in acute leukemia (AL) and its implication and investigate the effect of recombinant human thrombopoietin (rhTpo) on acute leukemic cells as well as its relation to C-mpl expression.


METHODS
C-mpl expression was detected in 43 AL patients by using semi-quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and the effect of rhTpo on acute leukemia cells by MTT assay.


RESULTS
C-mpl was expressed in 22 of 35 patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML), but did not in 8 patients with ALL. The percentage of C-mpl expression (16/22, 72.7%) was significantly higher in CD34 positive AML patients than in CD34 negative group (4/12, 33.3%, P = 0.031), and was higher in patients with M2b, M3 and M4EO than in those with other AML subtypes (40.0% vs 80.0%, P = 0.019). The complete remission rate in C-mpl positive AML patients was lower than that in negative patients (70.0% vs 81.8%, P = 0.394), although the difference was not significant. In 9 of 28 cases of AML, the in vitro treatment with rhTpo induced proliferation of leukemia cells. Among these 28 patients, leukemic cells from 8 of 17 (47.0%) patients expressing C-mpl responded to rhTpo, but only the cells from one of 11 (9.1%) non-expressing patients did. The rhTpo induced proliferation of AML cells was enhanced when combined with IL-3, GM-CSF or SCF.


CONCLUSIONS
C-mpl was expressed in some AML, but did not in ALL. Tpo could induce AML cells to proliferate and the effect was augmented when combined with other hematopoietic growth factors.
Guo
Y
Y
Blood Diseases Hospital, Institute of Hematology, CAMS and PUMC, Tianjin 300020.
Bian
S
S
Luo
M
M
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D018952:Antigens, CD34 / Q000378:metabolism; D002455:Cell Division; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D004915:Leukemia, Erythroblastic, Acute / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology; D015470:Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D015473:Leukemia, Promyelocytic, Acute / Q000378:metabolism* / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins / Q000378:metabolism*; D018121:Receptors, Cytokine; D053628:Receptors, Thrombopoietin; D013926:Thrombopoietin / Q000378:metabolism*; D014407:Tumor Cells, Cultured
D018952:Antigens, CD34; D009363:Neoplasm Proteins; D011518:Proto-Oncogene Proteins; D018121:Receptors, Cytokine; D053628:Receptors, Thrombopoietin; C082218:MPL protein, human; D013926:Thrombopoietin