Experimental hematology
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Experimental hematology · Nov 2007
Phenotypic variations and new mutations in JAK2 V617F-negative polycythemia vera, erythrocytosis, and idiopathic myelofibrosis.
The chronic myeloproliferative disorders (MPD), polycythemia vera (PV), essential thrombocytosis, and idiopathic myelofibrosis (IMF), are characterized by a spectrum of clinical features and linked by common genetic lesions in JAK2 and MPL. However, the clinical phenotypes in genetically undefined MPD patients are similar to those patients with JAK2 and MPL lesions. We, therefore, sought to determine whether there were JAK2 or MPL lesions in a well-defined, JAK2 V617F-negative MPD cohort, and to determine if clinical associations could be identified based on variations identified in these genes. ⋯ While the clinical phenotype of JAK2 exon 12 lesions in the MPD was predominantly erythroid, there was significant disease spectrum overlap between JAK2 V617F and JAK2 exon 12 mutations. By contrast, MPL gene mutations were not associated with erythrocytosis, but segregated primarily with the phenotypes of thrombocytosis, extramedullary disease, myelofibrosis, and osteosclerosis.
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Experimental hematology · Nov 2007
Regulated expression of microRNAs in normal and polycythemia vera erythropoiesis.
Polycythemia vera (PV) is a myeloproliferative disorder, arising from the acquired mutation(s) of a hematopoietic stem cell. The JAK2 V617F somatic mutation is found in most PV patients; however, it is not the disease-initiating mutation. Because microRNAs (miRNAs) play a regulatory role in hematopoiesis, we studied miRNA expressions in PV and normal erythropoiesis. ⋯ We identified the miRNAs with regulated expression in erythropoiesis; one appeared to be PV-specific. Their miRNA expression levels define early, intermediate, and late stages of erythroid differentiation. The validity of our findings was confirmed in nonexpanded peripheral blood cells.