[The influence of peripheral blood sample storage and delivery on the quantitative detection result of BCR-ABL (P210) transcript levels].

ABSTRACT

Objective: To explore the influence of storage and delivery conditions of the peripheral blood samples from patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) on the real-time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR) detection of the BCR-ABL (P210) transcript levels. Methods: The peripheral blood samples of 84 CML patients were collected. The same sample was divided into different groups according to storage time (0, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h) , temperature (room temperature, 18-24 ℃; low temperature, 2-8 ℃) , and vibration conditions (3, 6, and 12 h) . RQ-PCR was used to detect BCR-ABL (P210) transcript levels of the different groups. This study logarithmically transformed (log(10N)) the original data [BCR-ABL copy number, ABL copy number, and BCR-ABL (P210) transcript levels]. Results: ①Agarose gel electrophoresis showed significant RNA degradation of samples after storage for 48 and 72 h at room temperature. ②Among the overall samples, the BCR-ABL copy number of the samples stored at room temperature for 48 and 72 h was significantly lower than that of the samples stored at low temperature (P<0.05) . However, the BCR-ABL (P210) transcript levels had no significant difference between samples stored at low temperature and room temperature. ③No significant changes were noted in the BCR-ABL (P210) transcript levels at different storage times (6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 h) regardless of storage temperature (P>0.05) compared with that at baseline (0 h, -0.56±1.51) . ④ The BCR-ABL copy number of the overall sample only decreased significantly (P<0.05) at 48 h (2.93±1.59) and 72 h (2.79±1.42) compared with that at baseline (0 h, 3.35±1.60) when stored at room temperature. The ABL copy number in the overall sample decreased significantly at 48 and 72 h (whether low and room temperature; P<0.05) . However, no significant changes were noted in the BCR-ABL (P210) transcript levels after vibration for 3 h (-1.29±1.81) , 6 h (-1.24±1.72) , and 12 h (-1.18±1.68; P>0.05) compared with that at baseline (0 h, -0.60±1.37) . Conclusion: Sample storage time, storage temperature, and vibration can interfere with the results of BCR-ABL and ABL copy number but have no significant effect on the quantitative determination of BCR-ABL (P210) transcript levels. This study provides strong support for the feasibility of transregional transportation of peripheral blood samples from patients with CML.