Volume 61, Issue 1 pp. 5-9
Original Article
Free Access

Telomere length shortening is associated with disease evolution in chronic myelogenous leukemia

Jackie Boultwood

Corresponding Author

Jackie Boultwood

Leukaemia Research Fund Molecular Haematology Unit, Department of Cellular Science, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom

Leukaemia Research Fund Molecular Haematology Unit, Department of Cellular Science, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, 0X3 9DU, UKSearch for more papers by this author
Carrie Fidler

Carrie Fidler

Leukaemia Research Fund Molecular Haematology Unit, Department of Cellular Science, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom

Search for more papers by this author
Patricia Shepherd

Patricia Shepherd

MRC CML Trials Unit, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, United Kingdom

Search for more papers by this author
Fiona Watkins

Fiona Watkins

Leukaemia Research Fund Molecular Haematology Unit, Department of Cellular Science, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom

Search for more papers by this author
Joanna Snowball

Joanna Snowball

Leukaemia Research Fund Molecular Haematology Unit, Department of Cellular Science, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom

Search for more papers by this author
Sara Haynes

Sara Haynes

Leukaemia Research Fund Molecular Haematology Unit, Department of Cellular Science, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom

Search for more papers by this author
Rajko Kusec

Rajko Kusec

Department of Medicine I, Division of Haematology, University of Vienna, Austria

Search for more papers by this author
Alex Gaiger

Alex Gaiger

Department of Medicine I, Division of Haematology, University of Vienna, Austria

Search for more papers by this author
Timothy J. Littlewood

Timothy J. Littlewood

Leukaemia Research Fund Molecular Haematology Unit, Department of Cellular Science, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom

Search for more papers by this author
Andrew J. Peniket

Andrew J. Peniket

Leukaemia Research Fund Molecular Haematology Unit, Department of Cellular Science, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom

Search for more papers by this author
James S. Wainscoat

James S. Wainscoat

Leukaemia Research Fund Molecular Haematology Unit, Department of Cellular Science, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, United Kingdom

Search for more papers by this author

Abstract

We studied telomere length in the peripheral blood leukocyte samples of a large group of patients with chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) by Southern blot hybridization using the (TTAGGG)4 probe. The average telomere length expressed as the peak telomere repeat array (TRA) of the peripheral blood samples obtained from a group of 34 healthy age-matched controls ranged between 7.6 and 10.0 kb and the mean peak TRA was 8.7 kb. Forty-one patients in the chronic phase of CML were studied; 32/41 (78%) showed telomere reduction (<7.6 kb) relative to age-matched controls and the mean peak TRA was 6.4 kb (range 4.0–10.6 kb). Serial samples were analysed from 12 patients at both chronic phase and during disease progression. The leukocyte DNA of all 12 patients in accelerated phase and/or blast crisis showed telomere reduction relative to age-matched controls and the mean peak TRA was 4.1 kb (range 3.0–5.4 kb). The peak TRA in the accelerated or blast phase was reduced compared with the corresponding paired sample in the chronic phase in all cases studied. These data show that a marked reduction in telomere length is associated with disease progression in CML. Am. J. Hematol. 61:5–9, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

The full text of this article hosted at iucr.org is unavailable due to technical difficulties.