Tryptase detection in bone-marrow blood: a new diagnostic tool in systemic mastocytosis.
BACKGROUND
The condition mastocytosis includes a heterogenous group of disorders that are characterized by abnormal growth and accumulation of mast cells. The detection of serum tryptase, an essential mast cell enzyme, is a widely used tool in the diagnosis of mastocytosis. The diagnosis of systemic mastocytosis is substantially based on the histologic examination of bone-marrow biopsy specimens.


OBJECTIVE
We hypothesized that the detection of tryptase in bone-marrow blood might provide additional, more sensitive information on the bone-marrow involvement of patients with mastocytosis.


METHODS
Serum tryptase was monitored in patients with cutaneous symptoms (n = 17), patients with extracutaneous symptoms (n = 16), and healthy control subjects (n = 359). Bone-marrow biopsy specimens of patients with systemic mastocytosis (n = 7) and control subjects (n = 7) were investigated histologically and bone-marrow blood of these individuals was analyzed on the tryptase levels.


RESULTS
We could detect for the first time significantly elevated tryptase levels in bone-marrow blood of patients with systemic mastocytosis. Secondarily we could present a clear correlation between the level of serum tryptase and the clinical symptoms of mastocytosis.


CONCLUSIONS
With the present study, we establish a new diagnostic tool for systemic mastocytosis. Unfortunately, we can only present a limited number of cases, since systemic mastocytosis is a rare disease involving few patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Our results indicate that the measurement of tryptase in bone-marrow blood is a new, sensitive marker of the mast cell burden in bone marrow of patients with systemic mastocytosis.
Proelss
Julia
J
Department of Dermatology, University of Bonn, Bonn, Germany. julia.proelss@ukb.uni-bonn.de
Wenzel
Joerg
J
Ko
Yon
Y
Bieber
Thomas
T
Bauer
Ralf
R
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D001706:Biopsy; D001853:Bone Marrow / Q000098:blood supply* / Q000473:pathology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008407:Mast Cells / Q000473:pathology; D034701:Mastocytosis, Cutaneous / Q000097:blood; D034721:Mastocytosis, Systemic / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology; D053802:Tryptases / Q000097:blood*
D015415:Biomarkers; D053802:Tryptases