Research in the area of acute myeloid leukemia reported from Hacettepe University, Department of Internal Medicine

03-30-2007

New research, "Overexpression of the local bone marrow renin-angiotensin system in acute myeloid leukemia," is the subject of a report. "Local bone marrow renin-angiotensin system (RAS) is an autocrine-paracrine system affecting hematopoiesis. Angiotensin II stimulates the proliferation of bone marrow and umbilical cord blood hematopoietic progenitors," researchers in Ankara, Turkey report.

"Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) hyperfunction may lead to the acceleration of negative hematopoietic regulator peptide, AcSDKP, metabolism, which in turn lowers its level in the bone marrow microenvironment, finally removing the antiproliferative effect of AcSDKP on the hematopoietic cells and blasts. The aim of this study is therefore to search those major RAS components simultaneously in the leukemic blast cells taken from the bone marrow of patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Bone marrow aspiration materials were obtained from 10 patients with AML (8 males, 2 females; median age 48.5 years) and 8 patients with nonmalignant hematological disorders (6 males, 2 females; median age 45 years). EDTA-treated bone marrow samples were stored at -70 degrees C until analysis. Total RNA was extracted from 200-microl bone marrow samples by High Pure RNA Isolation Kit. The medians of expression ratios of AML patient samples have been found 0.736 (IQR 1.359), 0.540 (IQR 0.725), and 0.075 (IQR 0.002) for ACE, ANG and REN genes, respectively. All three gene expressions were found to be significantly higher in the bone marrow samples of AML patients. In this study, the expression of the mRNAs of the major RAS components-namely ACE, renin and angiotensinogen-in human bone marrow samples were quantified by reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) to confirm the presence of the local bone marrow RAS," wrote Y. Beyazit and colleagues, Hacettepe University, Department of Internal Medicine.

The researchers concluded: "Elucidation of the pathological activity of the local RAS-mediated regulation of the leukemogenesis is both pathobiologically and clinically important, since the angiotensin peptides represent a molecular target in the disease management."

Beyazit and colleagues published their study in the Journal of the National Medical Association (Overexpression of the local bone marrow renin-angiotensin system in acute myeloid leukemia. Journal of the National Medical Association, 2007;99(1):57-63).

For additional information, contact Y. Beyazit, Hacettepe University Medical School, Dept. of Internal Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.

Publisher contact information for the Journal of the National Medical Association is: National Med Association, 1012 10th St., N W, Washingon, DC 20001, USA.

This article was prepared by Hematology Week editors from staff and other reports. Copyright 2007, Hematology Week via NewsRx.com.