Investigation of Engraftment and Leukemia Relapse after bone Marrow transplantation, Using a variable Number of Tandem Repeat(VNTR) and 6 restriction Fragment Length Polymorphisms(RFLPs).

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In order to confirm engraftment of sibling-donor marrow cells or lekuemia relapse from the patient leukemic cells, DNA from nucleated cells in peripheral blood or bone-marrow fluid from patients who had received bone marrow transplantation (BMT) was examined using the MCT118 gene (D1S80) (a variable number of tandem repeats: VNTR) and 6 other genes and 9 restriction enzymes before and after BMT. In 5 of 10 patients (Case 1, 3, 4, 7, and 9) a difference between the DNA from donor cells and recipient cells was confirmed using the MCT118 gene, and engraftment of the donor marrow cells could be demonstrated. In Case 7, not only the engraftment of donor cells but also the leukemia relapse from recipient cells were confirmed using MCT118. Among the remaining 5 cases, Case 5, 8, and 10, the engraftment of donor cells was confirmed using the COLA2A1 gne (12q14.3). In Case 5, and 10, the engraftment could be detected using a gene in the CA2 locus (8g22). In Case 2, the presence of cells from the sibling was identified with the THRB gene (3p24) alone. In Case 6, the presence of cells from the donor could be confirmed using the DMD gene (Xp21.3-21.1) alone. In Case 8, the AK1 gene (9q34.1-34.2) could identified the difference between DNA from donor cells and recipient cells only, but the difference could also be detected using the COLA2A1 gene. In none of the cases, the INS gene (11p15.5) could identify the difference between the DNA from donor and recipient cells. Although only 10 cases were investigated, the findings suggest the use of first the MCT118 gene, then the COLA2A1 gene and the other genes when trying to determine engraftment of donor marrow cells or leukemia relapse after BMT.