Expression of TWIST in patients with MDS and in healthy donors. (A) Stroma cells. mRNA levels were determined by quantitative real-time PCR. TWIST levels were lower in MDS than in healthy controls (see text). (B) CD34⁺ cells. Samples from 56 patients with MDS and from 17 healthy donors were analyzed. TWIST mRNA levels were significantly higher in patients with advanced MDS (P < .001). Shown are the means and SEM. The gel shows actual mRNA levels in 14 patients with MDS and 5 healthy controls. (C) TWIST levels in patients with MDS and healthy donors. Relative mRNA levels of TWIST were significantly higher in patients with low-grade (P < .001) and advanced MDS (P < .001) than in healthy donors. (D) Ratio of relative TWIST and p53 levels in patients with MDS and healthy donors. The ratio of TWIST to p53 mRNA differed significantly between cells from healthy donors and cells from patients with low-grade (P < .001) and advanced MDS (P < .001), respectively. Horizontal lines indicate median values.