Abstract
We measured the angiopoietin-2 (Ang-2) expression in early chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients, pointing our attention on the association with immunoglobulin (IgV(H)) mutational status, CD38 expression and clinical outcome. Our results indicate that Ang-2 expression is heterogeneous among Binet stage A CLL patients. CLL patients can be divided into two subgroups (Ang-2 positive and Ang-2 negative CLL) with 30% of them displaying Ang-2 RNA levels above the cut off. A shorter progression-free survival was observed in Ang-2 positive CLL subset (p=0.032). Abnormal Ang-2 expression was also associated with unmutated IgV(H) genes (p<0.0001) and increased bone marrow angiogenesis (p=0.028), suggesting a role of Ang-2 in disease-progression of early CLL patients.
Publication types
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Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
MeSH terms
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ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1 / metabolism
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Adult
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Aged
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Aged, 80 and over
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Angiopoietin-2 / genetics*
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Angiopoietin-2 / metabolism
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Bone Marrow / blood supply
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Disease Progression
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Female
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Flow Cytometry
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Gene Expression Regulation, Leukemic / genetics*
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Humans
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Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains
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Immunoglobulin Variable Region
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Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / genetics*
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Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Chronic, B-Cell / pathology
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Lymphoma, B-Cell / genetics*
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Lymphoma, B-Cell / pathology
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Male
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Microcirculation
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Middle Aged
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Prognosis
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RNA, Messenger / genetics
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RNA, Messenger / metabolism
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Reverse Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction
Substances
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Angiopoietin-2
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Immunoglobulin Heavy Chains
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Immunoglobulin Variable Region
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RNA, Messenger
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ADP-ribosyl Cyclase 1