Detection of BCR/ABL fusion gene in bone marrow-derived Flk1+cd31-cd34- mesenchymal stem cells from chronic myelogenous leukemia patients

BACKGROUND: The in vivo and in vitro experiment has confirmed that Flk1+CD31-CD34-mesenchymal stem cells can differentiate into hematopoietic and endothelial cells at the single cells level. OBJECTIVE: To observe the expression of BCR/ABL fusion gene from the bone marrow of chronic myelogenous leukemia patients. METHODS: The primitive bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells from chronic myelogenous leukemia patients were cultured and amplified in vitro. The growth curve was detected and the cell cycle and immune phenotype were analyzed. The expression of BCR/ABL fusion gene was detected by RT-PCR and FISH. RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: The primitive bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells from chronic myelogenous leukemia patients showed a fibroblast-like morphology, most of these cells were in the G0/G1 phases and had highexpansion of Flk1, CD13, CD29, CD44. The expression of BCR/ABL fusion gene could be identified by RT-PCR and FISH. The transformation of leukemia gene in chronic myelogenous leukemia may occur on blood cells and endothelial cells which were higher than hemangioblastic cells.