title: Telomere length and correlation with histopathogenesis in B-cell leukemias/lymphomas.
abstract: Telomere length was recently reported to correlate with cellular origin of B-cell malignancies in relation to the germinal center (GC). In this report, we measured telomere length by quantitative-PCR in 223 B-cell lymphomas/leukemias and correlated results with immunoglobulin (Ig) mutation status and immunostainings for GC/non-GC subtypes of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL). Shortest telomeres were found in Ig-unmutated chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) [median telomere to single copy gene value (T/S) 0.33], differing significantly to Ig-mutated CLL (0.63). Contrary to this, mantle cell lymphomas (MCLs) exhibited similar telomere lengths regardless of Ig mutation status (0.47). Telomere length differed significantly between GC-like (0.73) and non-GC-like DLBCLs (0.43), and follicular lymphomas (FLs) had shorter telomeres (0.53) than GC-DLBCL. Hairy cell leukemias, which display Ig gene intraclonal heterogeneity, had longer telomeres (0.62) than FLs and non-GC-DLBCL, but shorter than GC-DLBCL. We conclude that although DLBCL and CLL subsets can be clearly distinguished, telomere length reflects many parameters and may not simply correlate with GC-related origin.
authors.affiliation: Department of Genetics and Pathology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Sarah H
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Walsh
authors.forename: Pawel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Grabowski
authors.forename: Mattias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Berglund
authors.forename: Ulf
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Thunberg
authors.forename: Mia
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thorsélius
authors.forename: Gerard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Tobin
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Aleskog
authors.forename: Karin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Karlsson
authors.forename: Christer
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sundström
authors.forename: Anna
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Laurell
authors.forename: Gunilla
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Enblad
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Rosenquist
authors.forename: Göran
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Roos
mesh_terms: D004252:DNA Mutational Analysis; D018858:Germinal Center / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007136:Immunoglobulins / Q000235:genetics*; D015448:Leukemia, B-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D016393:Lymphoma, B-Cell / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D009154:Mutation; D020133:Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction / Q000379:methods; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D016615:Telomere / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D007136:Immunoglobulins