BCR/ABL mRNA and the P210BCR/ABL Protein Are Downmodulated by Interferon- in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Patients

Blood ◽  
1999 ◽  
Vol 94 (7) ◽  
pp. 2200-2207 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabrizio Pane ◽  
Ilaria Mostarda ◽  
Carmine Selleri ◽  
Rossella Salzano ◽  
Anna Maria Raiola ◽  
...  

The BCR/ABL hybrid gene plays a central role in the pathogenesis of the chronic phase of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML). We used a very sensitive quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction to investigate the levels of hybrid BCR/ABL mRNA in bone marrow cells of 20 patients with Philadelphia positive (Ph+) CML treated with interferon- (IFN-) as a single agent. Bone marrow samples were collected at diagnosis and at hematologic remission induced by IFN-, or by hydroxyurea in case of resistance to IFN-. The mean levels of BCR/ABL transcripts in bone marrow mononuclear cells of patients who showed a complete hematologic response to IFN- were significantly reduced with respect to those at diagnosis (48 × 103v168 × 103; P < .001), whereas no difference was detected between the values at diagnosis and at hematologic remission in patients resistant to IFN-. In cell culture experiments, IFN- priming significantly reduced the levels of BCR/ABL hybrid transcripts in a dose-dependent manner in Ph+ bone marrow precursors obtained at diagnosis from patients who subsequently responded to IFN- treatment (P < .005). No downmodulation was observed in bone marrow precursors from patients who subsequently proved to be IFN-resistant. These results indicate that downmodulation of BCR/ABL gene expression could be one of the mechanisms involved in the response of CML patients to IFN- treatment.

2006 ◽  
Vol 63 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Milica Strnad ◽  
Goran Brajuskovic ◽  
Natasa Strelic ◽  
Biljana Zivanovic-Todoric ◽  
Ljiljana Tukic ◽  
...  

Background/Aim. Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) represents a malignant myeloproliferative disease developed out of pluripotent hematopoietic stem cell that contains the fusion bcr-abl gene. Disorders that occur in the process of apoptosis represent one of the possible molecular mechanisms that bring about the disease progress. The aim of our study was to carry out the analysis of the presence of the amplification of the cmyc oncogene, as well as the analysis of the changes in the expression of Bcl-2 in the patients with CML. Methods. Our study included 25 patients with CML (18 in chronic phase, 7 in blast transformation). Using an immunohistochemical alkaline phosphatase-anti-alkaline phosphatase (APAAP) method, we analyzed the expression of cell death protein in the mononuclear bone marrow cells of 25 CML patients. By a differential PCR (polymerase chain reaction) method, we followed the presence of amplified c-myc gene in mononuclear peripheral blood cells. Results. The level of the expression of Bcl-2 protein was considerably higher in the bone marrow samples of the patients undergoing blast transformation of the disease. The amplification of c-myc gene was detected in 30% of the patients in blast transformation of the disease. Conclusion. The expression of Bcl-2 protein and the amplification of c-myc gene are in correlation with the disease progression.


2016 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 415-421 ◽  
Author(s):  
Khadega A. Abuelgasim ◽  
Saeed Alshieban ◽  
Nada A. Almubayi ◽  
Ayman Alhejazi ◽  
Abdulrahman R. Jazieh

We describe the case of a young man with therapy-naive chronic myeloid leukemia who did not initially have any peripheral blood or bone marrow excess blasts but presented with extramedullary myeloid blast crises involving the central nervous system and multiple lymph nodes. Conventional cytogenetic tests were positive for t(9;22)(q34:q11) as well as for trisomy 8, 14 and 21 and del(16q). The patient’s peripheral blood and bone marrow were positive for the BCR-ABL oncogene when analyzed by fluorescence in situ hybridization and polymerase chain reaction. He achieved good clinical, radiological, cytogenetic and molecular response to acute myeloid leukemia induction chemotherapy combined with 16 doses of triple intrathecal chemotherapy and oral dasatinib (second-generation tyrosine kinase inhibitor) treatment. Due to his poor general condition, he was treated with 24 Gy of whole-brain radiation therapy, as allogeneic stem cell transplantation was not feasible. Although extramedullary CNS blast crises are usually associated with a very poor outcome, our patient remains in complete cytogenetic and molecular remission, on single-agent dasatinib, 4 years after the diagnosis with no current evidence of active extramedullary disease. This suggests that dasatinib has a role in controlling not only chronic-phase chronic myeloid leukemia, but also its CNS blast crisis.


Blood ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 120 (21) ◽  
pp. 3766-3766
Author(s):  
Paolo Strati ◽  
Hagop M. Kantarjian ◽  
Deborah A. Thomas ◽  
Susan M. O'Brien ◽  
Elias J. Jabbour ◽  
...  

Abstract Abstract 3766 Background: Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML) may progress at advanced phase at the rate of 1–1.5% per year. Blastic phase (BP) CML (defined by a bone marrow blast count >30%) can show lymphoid features in up to 20–30% of cases. With the use of single agent imatinib or dasatinib, median overall survival (OS) ranges between 7 and 11 months. Combination therapy may offer an improved outcome. We analyzed the outcome of patients (pts) with lymphoid BP-CML treated with hyperfractionated cyclophosphamide, vincristine, adriamycin, dexamethasone (HCVAD) plus imatinib or dasatinib. Methods: 32 pts with lymphoid BP-CML were treated at MD Anderson with HCVAD plus imatinib or dasatinib between 2000 and 2011. The starting dose of imatinib was 400 mg (2 pts), 600 mg (20 pts) and 800 mg (1 pt). The starting dose of dasatinib was 50 mg (1 pt), 100 mg (7 pts) and 140 mg (1 pt). Survival curves were calculated using Kaplan-Meier estimates and were compared using the log-rank test. Results: the median age was 48 (22–74) and 72% were male. Four (12%) pts had a de novo diagnosis, 21 (66%) were previously treated with a tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) for chronic phase (CP) and 3 (9%) for BP. At diagnosis, median WBC was 23.4 (1.1–165.4) x109/L, hemoglobin 10.6 (6.3–16.4) g/dL, platelets 51 (6–526) x109/L, blasts 33 (0–91)%, basophils 0 (0–2)%, creatinine 1 (0.6–1.5) mg/dL, albumin 3.8 (2–4.7) g/dL, bilirubin 0.5 (0.2–3.4) mg/dL, alanine aminotransferase 34 (12–446) IU/L; on bone marrow, median blasts were 78 (26–97)%, basophils 0 (0–4)% and additional chromosomal aberrations (ACA) were found in 15/24 (62%) pts, affecting mostly chromosome (chr) 7 (60%), chr9 (40%), chr8 (33%) and chr1 (27%). Before BP diagnosis, median Philadelphia (Ph) positivity by FISH was 67% (0–96); 6/14 (43%) pts showed a Ph mutation (Y253H, T315I, Q252H, F317L, E255K, M244V) at time of progression to BP. Median time from CML diagnosis to BP was 18 (2–33) months, with no significant differences according to previous Ph FISH positivity or CML therapies. Imatinib was added to HCVAD in 23 pts and Dasatinib in 9. Complete Remission (CR) was obtained in 27 (84%) of them (78% with imatinib, 100% with dasatinib). Twenty-three of 27 (87%) CR were achieved after 1stcycle of induction. Early mortality (i.e., within 60 days) occurred in 3 pts. Patients received a median of 4 (1–8) cycles of HCVAD. At the time of CR, median BCR-ABL transcript levels were 1.7 (0–100). The levels decreased to a median of 0.01 (0–100) after 3–4 cycles of therapy; 7/27 (26%) pts achieved negative values of BCR-ABL transcripts after a median of 2 (1–4) months. Three (43%) of 7 pts who achieved complete molecular remission relapsed. MRD by flow cytometry became negative in 15/17 (88%) pts: 14 after induction, 1 after 2 months. Six (40%) of the pts with negative flow cytometry for MRD relapsed. Thirteen pts received SCT in remission: 4 relapsed and died after SCT. Median Progression Free Survival (PFS) was not reached and was longer among SCT recipients (p=0.03) and patients who had a negative flow cytometry at the time of CR (p<0.001). OS was 17 (7–27) months and was longer in patients with no more than 1 line of treatment for CP of CML, with ACA (p=0.01) and among SCT recipients (p<0.001). Among patients who had a CR, OS was longer if flow cytometry was negative at the time of CR (p=0.02) and if BCR-ABL transcript levels were < 1.7% (p=0.01) at the time of CR or <0.025% as best result (p=0.03). Conclusions: HCVAD plus imatinib or dasatinib is an effective regimen for pts with lymphoid BP CML, particularly when followed by SCT. ACA and less than 1 treatment for CML are positive prognostic factors. Better results are observed if negative flow cytometry and low levels of BCR-ABL transcripts are achieved with therapy. Disclosures: Ravandi: BMS: Honoraria, Research Funding.


Blood ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 103 (9) ◽  
pp. 3549-3551 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Michael Kvasnicka ◽  
Juergen Thiele ◽  
Peter Staib ◽  
Annette Schmitt-Graeff ◽  
Martin Griesshammer ◽  
...  

Abstract The effect of imatinib mesylate (imatinib) therapy on angiogenesis and myelofibrosis was investigated and compared with interferon (IFN) and hydroxyurea (HU) in 98 patients with newly diagnosed Philadelphia chromosome-positive/BCR-ABL+ (Ph+/BCR-ABL+) chronic myeloid leukemia in first chronic phase and no other pretreatment. By means of immunostaining (CD34) and morphometry, a relationship between microvessel frequency and fiber density was detectable in initial bone marrow (BM) biopsies and sequential examinations after at least 8 months of therapy. First-line monotherapy with imatinib induced a significant reduction (normalization in comparison with controls) of microvessels and reticulin fibers. In most patients, decrease in BM vascularity was associated with a complete cytogenetic response. A significant anti-angiogenic effect was also observed after HU treatment, contrasting with IFN administration or combination regimens (IFN plus HU). In conclusion, our data support the anti-angiogenic capacity of imatinib by normalization of vascularity. In contrast, hematologic response following IFN treatment is independent from BM angiogenesis. (Blood. 2004;103:3549-3551)


Blood ◽  
2007 ◽  
Vol 110 (11) ◽  
pp. 2923-2923
Author(s):  
Sabine Mumprecht ◽  
Juerg Schwaller ◽  
Max Solenthaler ◽  
Adrian F. Ochsenbein

Abstract Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a malignant myeloproliferative disease of hematopoietic stem cells with a characteristic chronic phase of several years before progression to acute myeloid leukemia. The immune system may contribute to disease control at this stage. Here we analyzed leukemia-specific immune responses in a murine retroviral bone marrow transduction and transplantation model using the glycoprotein of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus as a model leukemia antigen. We found that CML-specific cytotoxic T cells (CTLs) became exhausted after initial activation and expansion. Only a small fraction of CML-specific CTLs persisted longterm. They maintained some limited cytotoxic activity but did not produce IFNγ or TNFα or expand after restimulation. CML-specific CTLs were characterized by high expression of programmed death 1 (PD-1), whereas CML cells expressed PD-ligand 1 (PD-L1). Blocking PD-1 signaling in CML mice by transferring BCR/ABL-NUP98/HOXA9 transduced bone marrow cells to PD-1 deficient recipient mice resulted in improved CML disease control and prolonged survival. In addition, we extended our findings from the preclinical CML model to human patients. PD-1 was expressed at significantly higher levels on CD8+ T cells of CML patients when compared to healthy donors. These data identify PD-1 as a potential target to restore the function of exhausted CML-specific CTLs and therefore to treat CML.


2009 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 170-173 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fermin M. Sanchez-Guijo ◽  
Jesus M. Hernandez ◽  
Eva Lumbreras ◽  
Patricia Morais ◽  
Carlos Santamaría ◽  
...  

Blood ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 76 (11) ◽  
pp. 2337-2342
Author(s):  
IM Clauss ◽  
B Vandenplas ◽  
MG Wathelet ◽  
C Dorval ◽  
A Delforge ◽  
...  

Recombinant human interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) can induce a hematologic remission in patients with chronic myeloid leukemia. However, some patients are resistant and others develop late resistance to the IFN- alpha treatment. To understand the molecular mechanism of this resistance, we have analyzed the expression of 10 IFN-inducible genes in the cells of three resistant patients, two responsive patients, and six healthy controls. Northern blot hybridizations showed that all the genes were induced in in vitro IFN-alpha treated peripheral blood cells of the patients and healthy controls. These genes were also inducible in peripheral blood and bone marrow cells of two out of two resistant patients administered an injection of IFN-alpha. We conclude that the resistance to the IFN-alpha treatment of the chronic myeloid leukemia patients we studied is not due to (1) the absence of induction of any of the 10 IFN-inducible genes we studied, including the low-molecular- weight 2′-5′oligoadenylate synthetase; (2) the presence of an antagonist of IFN-alpha in the peripheral blood or bone marrow cells; and (3) the presence of neutralizing anti-IFN-alpha antibodies.


Blood ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 81 (3) ◽  
pp. 801-807 ◽  
Author(s):  
T Leemhuis ◽  
D Leibowitz ◽  
G Cox ◽  
R Silver ◽  
EF Srour ◽  
...  

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a malignant disorder of the hematopoietic stem cell. It has been shown that normal stem cells coexist with malignant stem cells in the bone marrow of patients with chronic-phase CML. To characterize the primitive hematopoietic progenitor cells within CML marrow, CD34+DR- and CD34+DR+ cells were isolated using centrifugal elutriation, monoclonal antibody labeling, and flow cytometric cell sorting. Polymerase chain reaction analysis of RNA samples from these CD34+ subpopulations was used to detect the presence of the BCR/ABL translocation characteristic of CML. The CD34+DR+ subpopulation contained BCR/ABL(+) cells in 11 of 12 marrow samples studied, whereas the CD34+DR- subpopulation contained BCR/ABL(+) cells in 6 of 9 CML marrow specimens. These cell populations were assayed for hematopoietic progenitor cells, and individual hematopoietic colonies were analyzed by PCR for their BCR/ABL status. Results from six patients showed that nearly half of the myeloid colonies cloned from CD34+DR- cells were BCR/ABL(+), although the CD34+DR- subpopulation contained significantly fewer BCR/ABL(+) progenitor cells than either low-density bone marrow (LDBM) or the CD34+DR+ fraction. These CD34+ cells were also used to establish stromal cell-free long-term bone marrow cultures to assess the BCR/ABL status of hematopoietic stem cells within these CML marrow populations. After 28 days in culture, three of five cultures initiated with CD34+DR- cells produced BCR/ABL(-) cells. By contrast, only one of eight cultures initiated with CD34+DR+ cells were BCR/ABL(-) after 28 days. These results indicate that the CD34+DR- subpopulation of CML marrow still contains leukemic progenitor cells, although to a lesser extent than either LDBM or CD34+DR+ cells.


2018 ◽  
Vol 140 (2) ◽  
pp. 105-111 ◽  
Author(s):  
Fiorina Giona ◽  
Michelina Santopietro ◽  
Giuseppe Menna ◽  
Maria Caterina Putti ◽  
Concetta Micalizzi ◽  
...  

Background: To date, no data on the adherence to specific guidelines for children with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in chronic phase (CP) have been reported. Methods: Since 2001, guidelines for treatment with imatinib mesylate (IM) and monitoring in patients younger than 18 years with CP-CML have been shared with 9 pediatric referral centers (P centers) and 4 reference centers for adults and children/adolescents (AP centers) in Italy. In this study, the adherence to these guidelines was analyzed. Results: Thirty-four patients with a median age of 11.4 years and 23 patients with a median age of 11.0 years were managed at 9 P and at 4 AP centers, respectively. Evaluations of bone marrow (BM) and/or peripheral blood (PB) were available for more than 90% of evaluable patients. Cytogenetics and molecular monitoring of PB were more consistently performed in AP centers, whereas molecular analysis of BM was carried out more frequently in P centers. Before 2009, some patients who responded to IM underwent a transplantation, contrary to the guidelines’ recommendations. Conclusions: Our experience shows that having specific guidelines is an important tool for an optimal management of childhood CP-CML, together with exchange of knowledge and proactive discussions within the network.


Blood ◽  
1998 ◽  
Vol 92 (7) ◽  
pp. 2461-2470 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Moore ◽  
David N. Haylock ◽  
Jean-Pierre Lévesque ◽  
Louise A. McDiarmid ◽  
Leanne M. Samels ◽  
...  

Abstract The interaction between p145c-KIT and p210bcr-abl in transduced cell lines, and the selective outgrowth of normal progenitors during long-term culture of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cells on stroma deficient in stem-cell factor (SCF) suggests that the response of CML cells to SCF may be abnormal. We examined the proliferative effect of SCF(100 ng/mL), provided as the sole stimulus, on individual CD34+ cells from five normal donors and five chronic-phase CML patients. Forty-eight percent of isolated single CML CD34+ cells proliferated after 6 days of culture to a mean of 18 cells, whereas only 8% of normal CD34+ cells proliferated (mean number of cells generated was 4). SCF, as a single agent, supported the survival and expansion of colony-forming unit–granulocyte-macrophage (CFU-GM) from CML CD34+CD38+ cells and the more primitive CML CD34+CD38− cells. These CFU-GM colonies were all bcr-abl positive, showing the specificity of SCF stimulation for the leukemic cell population. Coculture of CML and normal CD34+ cells showed exclusive growth of Ph+cells, suggesting that growth in SCF alone is not dependent on secretion of cytokines by CML cells. SCF augmentation of β1-integrin–mediated adhesion of CML CD34+cells to fibronectin was not increased when compared with the effect on normal CD34+ cells, suggesting that the proliferative and adhesive responses resulting from SCF stimulation are uncoupled. The increased proliferation may contribute to the accumulation of leukemic progenitors, which is a feature of CML.


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