老年人急性白血病T细胞受体VγI-Jγ基因重排分析

Analysis of T cell receptor V gamma I-J gamma gene rearrangement in elderly patients with acute leukemia]

OBJECTIVE: To obtain insight into the molecular mechanism of acute leukemia in elderly patients in relation to the clinical features of the disease. METHODS: DNA specimens were obtained from 34 elderly patients with acute nonlymphoblastic leukemia (ANLL), 9 elderly patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 10 healthy blood donors. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) coupled with single-strand conformation polymorphism (SSCP) was performed to detect T cell receptor (TCR) V gamma I-J gamma gene rearrangement. RESULTS: In the 34 elderly ANLL patients, 47.1% (16/34) were found with TCRV gamma I-J gamma gene rearrangement, showing a higher rate of the rearrangement than in younger ANLL patients (P<0.025). TCRV gamma I-J gamma gene rearrangement was identified in 7 (77.8%) of the 9 elderly patients with ALL, and 3 of the identified cases had oligoclonal/ subclonal rearrangement, suggesting a higher rate of oligoclonal/subclonal rearrangement in elderly ALL patients than in younger ALL patients (P<0.01). None of the blood donors was found with TCRV gamma I-J gamma gene rearrangement. The complete remission rate was lower in the elderly ANLL patient with TCRV gamma I-J gamma gene rearrangement than in those without (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: The detection of TCRV gamma I-J gamma gene rearrangement can be of value in assessing the therapeutic effect and making prognostic prediction in elderly patients with acute leukemia.