BackgroundActivated cardiac fibroblasts (CF) play a central role in cardiac fibrosis, a condition associated with most cardiovascular diseases. Conversion of quiescent into activated CF sustains heart integrity upon injury. However, permanence of CF in active state inflicts deleterious heart function effects. Mechanisms underlying this cell state conversion are still not fully disclosed, contributing to a limited target space and lack of effective anti-fibrotic therapies.Materials and methodsTo prioritize targets for drug development, we studied CF remodeling upon activation at transcriptomic and proteomic levels, using three different cell sources: primary adult CF (aHCF), primary fetal CF (fHCF), and induced pluripotent stem cells derived CF (hiPSC-CF).ResultsAll cell sources showed a convergent response upon activation, with clear morphological and molecular remodeling associated with cell-cell and cell-matrix interactions. Quantitative proteomic analysis identified known cardiac fibrosis markers, such as FN1, CCN2, and Serpine1, but also revealed targets not previously associated with this condition, including MRC2, IGFBP7, and NT5DC2.ConclusionExploring such targets to modulate CF phenotype represents a valuable opportunity for development of anti-fibrotic therapies. Also, we demonstrate that hiPSC-CF is a suitable cell source for preclinical research, displaying significantly lower basal activation level relative to primary cells, while being able to elicit a convergent response upon stimuli.
Acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) is a specific type of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cytogenetically characterized by a reciprocal translocation between chromosomes 15 and 17, t(15;17) (q22;q21), which results in a PML/RARA and RARA/PML. Chromosomal rearrangements, in addition to t(15;17), have been reported in 25-40% of APL patients [1]. Trisomy of chromosome 8 is the most frequent secondary anomaly and other abnormalities involving chromosomes 9, 17, 7, 21, 16, 6 and 12 have been described with less frequency [2]. The prognostic value of chromosomal abnormalities besides to t(15;17) remained uncertain in previous studies. We described a case of APL with very poor outcome and cytogenetically characterized with dic(8;13)(q10;q10) in addition to t(15;17). In June 2008, a 21-year-old woman was referred to the hospital with epistaxis and menorrhagia. Physical examination revealed pallor, tachycardia and discrete hepatomegaly. Peripheral blood examination showed hemoglobin level of 6.0 g/dL, platelets count 26 6 10 9 /L and white blood cells count 22 6 10 9 /L (92% of which consisted of promyelocytes). Coagulation assays revealed prolongation in prothrombin time (25.8 s and INR 2.6) and normal activated partial thromboplastin time (32.8 s). The bone marrow aspirate revealed hypercellular marrow with 95% of atypical hypergranular promyelocytes (many of them with abundant Auer rods) [ Figure 1(A)].
BackgroundMyelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is rare in the pediatric age group and it may be associated with inheritable bone marrow failure (BMF) such as Fanconi anemia (FA). FA is a rare multi-system genetic disorder, characterized by congenital malformations and progressive BMF. Patients with FA usually present chromosomal aberrations when evolving to MDS or acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Thus, the cytogenetic studies in the bone marrow (BM) of these patients have an important role in the therapeutic decision, mainly in the indication for hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). The most frequent chromosomal alterations in the BM of FA patients are gains of the chromosomal regions 1q and 3q, and partial or complete loss of chromosome 7. However, the significance and the predictive value of such clonal alterations, with respect to malignant progress, are not fully understood and data from molecular cytogenetic studies are very limited.Case presentationA five-year-old boy presented recurrent infections and persistent anemia. The BM biopsy revealed hypocellularity. G-banding was performed on BM cells and showed a normal karyotype. The physical examination showed to be characteristic of FA, being the diagnosis confirmed by DEB test. Five years later, even with supportive treatment, the patient presented severe hypocellularity and BM evolution revealing megakaryocyte dysplasia, intense dyserythropoiesis, and 11% myeloblasts. G-banded analysis showed an abnormal karyotype involving a der(9)t(9;11)(p24;q?22). The FISH analysis showed the monoallelic loss of ATM and KMT2A genes. At this moment the diagnosis was MDS, refractory anemia with excess of blasts (RAEB). Allogeneic HSCT was indicated early in the diagnosis, but no donor was found. Decitabine treatment was initiated and well tolerated, although progression to AML occurred 3 months later. Chemotherapy induction was initiated, but there was no response. The patient died due to disease progression and infection complications.ConclusionsMolecular cytogenetic analysis showed a yet unreported der(9)t(9;11)(p24;q?22),der(11)t(9;11)(p24;q?22) during the evolution from FA to MDS/AML. The FISH technique was important allowing the identification at the molecular level of the monoallelic deletion involving the KMT2A and ATM genes. Our results suggest that this chromosomal alteration conferred a poor prognosis, being associated with a rapid leukemic transformation and a poor treatment response.
hematopoietic clonal neoplasms. MDS occurs mainly in elderly patients. KMT2A rearrangements (KMT2A-r) are rare in MDS, so little is known about their prognostic value. The present study describes the clinical characteristics of a young adult patient diagnosed with MDS-EB-2, presenting the t(11;16)(q23;q24). The Decitabine treatment was initiated since no matching donor was found. The patient showed improved anemia and thrombocytopenia. However, he still had severe neutropenia and clonal chromosomal alteration. Two months after the fifth cycle of Decitabine, the patient presented a worsening of the clinical parameters with increased blast and evolution to AML. He was treated with intensification chemotherapy, but despite all efforts, the patient evolved to death. Treatment refractoriness and leukemia transformation suggest that t(11;16)(q23;q24) with KMT2A-r was associated with poor prognosis. This study reinforces the importance of characterizing new chromosomal alterations and their impact on prognosis in MDS.
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