Bone Marrow Cells From Low-Risk Myelodysplastic Syndrome Patients Show Features of Enhanced Autophagy

Abstract 4961

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a preneoplastic condition that frequently develops into overt acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Beclin 1, a gene plays an important role in autophagy, has been recognized as a tumour suppressor. The aberrant expression of Beclin 1 has been correlated to the development and progression of cancer. However, The function and expression of Beclin 1 in MDS is largely unexplored.

The present study aimed to investigate Beclin 1 expression and its correlation with IPSS in bone marrow cells from Patients with Low-Risk MDS. We have analyzed the expression of Beclin 1 in BM mononuclear cells (BMMNCs) from patients of Low-Risk MDS (31 cases), 22 AML(22 cases) and healthy control (9 cases) by quantitative real-time reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR), immunofluorescence and western blot analysis.

The expression level of Beclin 1 mRNA is significantly higher in BMMNCs in patients with Low-Risk MDS(mean± SD=6.26±4.87) when compared to healthy controls (mean± SD= 1.52±1.37), and the IPSS score was negatively correlated with the percentage of Beclin 1 positive cells. A markedly decreased expression of Beclin 1 was observed in AML (mean± SD=1.12±1.04) compared with healthy controls. The amount of Beclin 1 protein determined by either western blotting or immunofluorescence was markedly increased in MDS compared with that in controls (P<0.05). These results indicated that the cells from Patients with Low-Risk Myelodysplasia show features of enhanced autophagy, suggesting that the biological phenotype of autophagy, in addition to apoptosis and senescence, may also participate in the development of MDS and its progression to AML.