In:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, Vol. 86, No. 11 ( 1989-06), p. 4259-4263
Abstract:
The Philadelphia (Ph1) chromosome results in a fusion of portions of the BCR gene from chromosome 22 and the ABL gene from chromosome 9, producing a chimeric BCR-ABL mRNA and protein. In lymphoblastic leukemias, there are two molecular subtypes of the Ph1 chromosome, one with a rearrangement of the breakpoint cluster region (bcr) of the BCR gene, producing the same 8.5-kilobase BCR-ABL fusion mRNA seen in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML), and the other, without a bcr rearrangement, producing a 7.0-kilobase BCR-ABL fusion mRNA that is seen only in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). We studied the molecular subtype of the Ph1 chromosome in 11 cases of Ph1-positive ALL, including 2 with a previous diagnosis of CML, using a sensitive method to analyze the mRNA species based on the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). We observed unexpected heterogeneity in BCR-ABL mRNA in this population; in particular, 1 of 6 bcr-rearranged cases and 1 of 5 bcr-unrearranged cases contained none of the known fusion mRNA species, while 1 of the bcr-rearranged cases contained both. This latter case is particularly interesting because it suggests that the acquisition of an additional BCR-ABL fusion species may be a mechanism of disease progression. We conclude that the PCR gives additional information about the Ph1 chromosome gene products that cannot be obtained by genomic analysis, but that it cannot be used as the sole means of detection of this chromosomal abnormality in ALL because of the high incidence of false negative results.
Type of Medium:
Online Resource
ISSN:
0027-8424
,
1091-6490
DOI:
10.1073/pnas.86.11.4259
Language:
English
Publisher:
Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
Publication Date:
1989
detail.hit.zdb_id:
209104-5
detail.hit.zdb_id:
1461794-8
SSG:
11
SSG:
12
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