[Analysis of gene mutations and clinic features in 108 patients with myeloproliferative neoplasm].

Objective: To analyze the genetic mutations and clinical features of the subtypes of classical BCR-ABL-negative myeloproliferative neoplasm (MPN) . Methods: Mutations of 108 newly diagnosed BCR-ABL-negative MPN patients [including 55 patients with essential thrombocytopenia (ET) , 24 with polycythemia vera (PV) , and 29 with primary myelofibrosis (PMF) ] were identified using next-generation sequencing with 127-gene panel, and the relationship between gene mutations and clinical features were analyzed. Results: Total 211 mutations in 32 genes were detected in 100 MPN patients (92.59% ) , per capita carried (1.96±1.32) mutations. 85.19% (92/108) patients carried the driver gene (JAK2, CALR, MPL) mutations, 69.56% (64/92) of these patients carried at least 1 additional gene mutation. In descending order of mutation frequency, the highest frequency was for activation signaling pathway genes (42.2% , 89/211) , methylation genes (17.6% , 36/211) , and chromatin-modified genes (16.1% , 34/211) . There was a significant difference in the number of mutations in the activation signaling pathway genes, epigenetic regulatory genes, spliceosomes, and RNA metabolism genes among the three MPN subgroups. The average number of additional mutations in PMF patients was higher than that in ET and PV patients (1.69±1.39, 0.67±0.70, 0.87±1.22, χ(2)=13.445, P=0.001) . MPN-SAF-TSS (MPN 10 score) (P=0.006) and myelofibrosis level (P=0.015) in patients with ≥ 3 mutant genes were higher and the HGB level (P=0.002) was lower than in those with<3 mutations. Twenty-six patients (24.1% ) carried high-risk mutation (HMR) , and patients with HMR had lower PLT (P=0.017) , HGB levels (P<0.001) , and higher myelofibrosis level (P=0.010) and MPN10 score (P<0.001) . The frequency of ASXL1 mutations was higher in PMF than in PV patients (34.5% vs. 4.2% , P=0.005) . PMF patients with ASXL1 had lower levels of PLT and HGB (P=0.029 and 0.019) . Conclusion: 69.56% of MPN patients carry at least one additional mutation, and 24.1% patients had HMR. Each subgroup had different mutation patterns. PMF patients had a higher average number of additional gene mutations, especially a higher frequency of ASXL1 mutation; PLT and HGB levels were lower in ASXL1 mutation PMF patients.

Early glial activation precedes neurodegeneration in the cerebral cortex after SIV infection: a 3D, multivoxel proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy study.

OBJECTIVES: As ∼40% of HIV-infected individuals experience neurocognitive decline, we investigated whether proton magnetic resonance spectroscopic imaging ((1) H-MRSI) detects early metabolic abnormalities in the cerebral cortex of a simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV)-infected rhesus monkey model of neuroAIDS. METHODS: The brains of five rhesus monkeys before and 4 or 6 weeks after SIV infection (with CD8(+) T-cell depletion) were assessed with T2 -weighted quantitative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and 16×16×4 multivoxel (1) H-MRSI (echo time/repetition time = 33/1440 ms). Grey matter and white matter masks were segmented from the animal MRIs and used to produce cortical masks co-registered to (1) H-MRSI data to yield cortical metabolite concentrations of the glial markers myo-inositol (mI), creatine (Cr) and choline (Cho), and of the neuronal marker N-acetylaspartate (NAA). The cortex volume within the large, 28 cm(3) (∼35% of total monkey brain) volume of interest was also calculated for each animal pre- and post-infection. Mean metabolite concentrations and cortex volumes were compared pre- and post-infection using paired sample t-tests. RESULTS: The mean (± standard deviation) pre-infection concentrations of the glial markers mI, Cr and Cho were 5.8 ± 0.9, 7.2 ± 0.4 and 0.9 ± 0.1 mM, respectively; these concentrations increased 28% (p ≈ 0.06), 15% and 10% (both p < 0.05), respectively, post-infection. The mean concentration of neuronal marker NAA remained unchanged (7.0 ± 0.6 mM pre-infection vs. 7.3 ± 0.8 mM post-infection; p ≈ 0.37). The mean cortex volume was also unchanged (8.1 ± 1.1 cm(3) pre-infection vs. 8.3 ± 0.5 cm(3) post-infection; p ≈ 0.76). CONCLUSIONS: These results support the hypothesis that early cortical glial activation occurs after SIV infection prior to the onset of neurodegeneration. This suggests HIV therapeutic interventions should potentially target early glial activation in the cerebral cortex.