IGHV unmutated status influences outcome more than IGHV1-69 gene usage per se in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
In this study, IGHV1-69 gene usage was detected in 46 out of 379 cases (12%) of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). In comparison with patients using alternative immunoglobulin heavy-chain variable (IGHV) genes, patients with IgHV1-69 CLLs more often presented at advanced stage, lacked somatic hypermutation (unmutated cases, 87% vs. 35%; P = .00001), and expressed unfavorable biologic characteristics. In 12 patients (26%), common amino acid motifs within the heavy-chain third complementarity-determining region were identified, allowing assignment to previously reported stereotyped subsets. In our study, treatment-free survival of patients with unmutated IGVH1-69 did not differ significantly from that of patients expressing unmutated alternative IGHV genes. As such, IGHV1-69 gene usage per se did not seem to be predictive of progressive disease, progression being primarily related to the unmutated IGHV profile.
Clinic of Hematology, Fondazione IRCCS Policlinico San Matteo, University of Pavia, Italy. eorlandi@smatteo.pv.it
Ester M
EM
Orlandi
Silvia
S
Zibellini
Cristiana
C
Pascutto
Cristina
C
Picone
Ilaria
I
Giardini
Lara
L
Pochintesta
Mario
M
Lazzarino
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D005260:Female; D015973:Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic; D006801:Humans; D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D015451:Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D011379:Prognosis; D016415:Sequence Alignment
D007143:Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains