Increase of bcr-abl chimeric mRNA expression in tumor cells of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia precedes disease progression

摘要: The translocation t(9;22) in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) generates a bcr-abl fusion gene that codes for an aberrant chimeric mRNA. Cell lines established from CML patients blast crisis show higher expression of this transcript than cells phase the disease. This observation provided stimulus to investigate whether increased is critical progression crisis. We have monitored mRNA 25 by serial quantitative polymerase chain reaction analyses during follow-up period 12 156 months after diagnosis, with median time 28 months. In all who shown disease accelerated (n = 4) or 7), increase was detected up 16 before laboratory clinical parameters showed phenotypic transformation malignant clone. To elevated levels reflected proportion leukemic samples analyzed primarily enhanced transcriptional activity gene, we performed at DNA level and Ph chromosome cytogenetic compared these data steady-state levels. did not reflect proportions but progression. Therefore, our strongly suggest precedes