title: Automated detection of residual cells after sex-mismatched stem-cell transplantation - evidence for presence of disease-marker negative residual cells.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A new chimerism analysis based on automated interphase fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) evaluation was established to detect residual cells after allogene sex-mismatched bone marrow or blood stem-cell transplantation.Cells of 58 patients were characterized as disease-associated due to presence of a bcr/abl-gene-fusion or a trisomy 8 and/or a simultaneous hybridization of gonosome-specific centromeric probes. The automatic slide scanning platform Metafer with its module MetaCyte was used to analyse 3,000 cells per sample.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overall 454 assays of 58 patients were analyzed. 13 of 58 patients showed residual recipient cells at one stage of more than 4% and 12 of 58 showed residual recipient cells less than 4%, respectively. As to be expected, patients of the latter group were associated with a higher survival rate (48 vs. 34 month). In only two of seven patients with disease-marker positive residual cells between 0.1-1.3% a relapse was observed. Besides, disease-marker negative residual cells were found in two patients without relapse at a rate of 2.8% and 3.3%, respectively.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The definite origin and meaning of disease-marker negative residual cells is still unclear. Overall, with the presented automatic chimerism analysis of interphase FISH slides, a sensitive method for detection of disease-marker positive residual cells is on hand.
authors.affiliation: Jena University Hospital, Institute of Human Genetics and Anthropology, Kollegiengasse 10, D-07743 Jena, Germany. i8lith@mti.uni-jena.de.
authors.forename: Jörn
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Erlecke
authors.forename: Isabell
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hartmann
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hoffmann
authors.forename: Torsten
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kroll
authors.forename: Heike
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Starke
authors.forename: Anita
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Heller
authors.forename: Alexander
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gloria
authors.forename: Herbert G
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Sayer
authors.forename: Tilman
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Johannes
authors.forename: Uwe
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Claussen
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Liehr
authors.forename: Ivan F
authors.initials: IF
authors.lastname: Loncarevic