Comparison of BCR-ABL transcript variants between patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia and leukaemia cell lines

Abstract

Background/aim: Chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) is a myeloproliferative disorder characterized by the presence of breakpoint cluster region-Abelson murine leukemia (BCR-ABL1) gene fusion as a hallmark that is expressed as two major transcripts b2a2 and b3a2. The aim of this study was to compare the BCR-ABL transcripts in the blood cells of patients with CML, and in chemoresistant and chemosensitive CML cell lines to validate their use as a good method to elucidate CML biology. Materials and Methods: Twelve patients with CML and CML cell lines (K562, K562- LUCENA and FEPS) were analyzed by real-time polymerase chain reaction to evaluate gene expression of BCR-ABL transcripts. Results: All patients had the same expression levels of b2a2 and b3a3 transcripts, however, CML cell lines presented only b3a2 expression. There were no significant differences in absolute b3a2 expression between patients and CML cell lines. Conclusion: CML cell lines provide a good in vitro alternative in that they have the same BCR-ABL expression as patients.