Evidence for reduced B-cell progenitors in early (low-risk) myelodysplastic syndrome

Early, low-risk International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS) myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a heterogeneous disorder where the molecular and cellular hematopoietic defects are poorly understood. To gain insight into this condition, we analyzed gene expression profiles of marrow CD34+ progenitor cells from normal-karyotype, low-blast-count MDS patients, age-matched controls, and patients with non-MDS anemia. Given the heterogeneity of early MDS, a surprisingly consistent finding was decreased expression of B-cell lineage-affiliated genes in MDS patients compared with healthy controls and 3 of 5 samples with non-MDS anemia. Both patients with non-MDS anemia with reduced B-cell gene expression were on chemotherapy. In 25 of 27 of the original samples and 9 further MDS samples, Taqman real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) confirmed these data. Flow cytometry on unfractionated marrow from independent samples also demonstrated reduced B-cell progenitors in MDS patients compared with healthy controls. These novel findings suggest a common perturbation in early MDS hematopoiesis. They also provide the rationale for a larger study to evaluate the diagnostic utility of reduced B-cell progenitor number as a diagnostic biomarker of early low-risk MDS, which can pose a diagnostic challenge.