title: High telomerase activity in granulocytes from clonal polycythemia vera and essential thrombocythemia.
abstract: Essential thrombocythemia (ET) and polycythemia vera (PV) are chronic myeloproliferative disorders that share the involvement of a multipotent progenitor cell and dominance of the transformed clone over normal hematopoiesis. On the other hand, the heterogeneity of these diseases with respect to clonal development from a common progenitor has been well established. To identify useful prognostic indicators, we analyzed telomerase activity (TA), a known marker of neoplastic proliferation, in granulocytes (PMNs) and mononuclear cells (MNCs) from 22 female patients with ET and PV. Clonality status was determined by investigation of X chromosome inactivation patterns (XCIPs). We found a statistically significant positive correlation between high TA and monoclonal pattern of XCIP. Therefore, our data suggest that the use of multiple tumor markers may contribute to a better understanding of the deregulated physiology of these disorders and provide useful prognostic factors.
authors.affiliation: Ematologia Oncologica Istituto Nazionale per la Ricerca sul Cancro, the Dipartimento di Medicina Interna, University of Genova, Largo Rosanna Benzi 10, 16132 Genova, Italy. annamaria.ferraris@istge.it
authors.forename: Anna Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Ferraris
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mangerini
authors.forename: Natalija
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Pujic
authors.forename: Omar
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Racchi
authors.forename: Davide
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Rapezzi
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gallamini
authors.forename: Salvatore
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Casciaro
authors.forename: Gian Franco
authors.initials: GF
authors.lastname: Gaetani
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor / Q000032:analysis; D002999:Clone Cells; D004303:Dosage Compensation, Genetic; D005260:Female; D006098:Granulocytes / Q000378:metabolism / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007963:Leukocytes, Mononuclear / Q000378:metabolism; D008875:Middle Aged; D011087:Polycythemia Vera / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*; D011379:Prognosis; D019098:Telomerase / Q000378:metabolism*; D013920:Thrombocythemia, Essential / Q000235:genetics / Q000473:pathology*
chemical_list: D014408:Biomarkers, Tumor; D019098:Telomerase