Dyserythropoiesis evaluated by the RED score and hepcidin:ferritin ratio predicts response to erythropoietin in lower-risk myelodysplastic syndromes.

Erythropoiesis-stimulating agents are generally the first line of treatment of anemia in patients with lower-risk myelodysplastic syndrome. We prospectively investigated the predictive value of somatic mutations, and biomarkers of ineffective erythropoiesis including the flow cytometry RED score, serum growth-differentiation factor-15, and hepcidin levels. Inclusion criteria were no prior treatment with erythropoiesis-stimulating agents, low- or intermediate-1-risk myelodysplastic syndrome according to the International Prognostic Scoring System, and a hemoglobin level <10 g/dL. Patients could be red blood cell transfusion-dependent or not and were given epoetin zeta 40 000 IU/week. Serum erythropoietin level, iron parameters, hepcidin, flow cytometry Ogata and RED scores, and growth-differentiation factor-15 levels were determined at baseline, and molecular analysis by next-generation sequencing was also conducted. Erythroid response (defined according to the International Working Group 2006 criteria) was assessed at week 12. Seventy patients, with a median age of 78 years, were included in the study. There were 22 patients with refractory cytopenia with multilineage dysplasia, 19 with refractory cytopenia with unilineage dysplasia, 14 with refractory anemia with ring sideroblasts, four with refractory anemia with excess blasts-1, six with chronic myelomonocytic leukemia, two with del5q-and three with unclassifiable myelodysplastic syndrome. According to the revised International Prognostic Scoring System, 13 had very low risk, 47 had low risk, nine intermediate risk and one had high-risk disease. Twenty patients were transfusion dependent. Forty-eight percent had an erythroid response and the median duration of the response was 26 months. At baseline, non-responders had significantly higher RED scores and lower hepcidin:ferritin ratios. In multivariate analysis, only a RED score >4 (P=0.05) and a hepcidin:ferritin ratio <9 (P=0.02) were statistically significantly associated with worse erythroid response. The median response duration was shorter in patients with growth-differentiation factor-15 >2000 pg/mL and a hepcidin:ferritin ratio <9 (P=0.0008 and P=0.01, respectively). In multivariate analysis, both variables were associated with shorter response duration. Erythroid response to epoetin zeta was similar to that obtained with other erythropoiesis-stimulating agents and was correlated with higher baseline hepcidin:ferritin ratio and lower RED score. ClinicalTrials.gov registration: NCT 03598582.

Ferritinemia during type 1 Gaucher disease: mechanisms and progression under treatment.

BACKGROUND: Earlier results highlighted hyperferritinemia during type-1 Gaucher disease (GD), but its potential mechanisms and long-term progression remained unexamined. METHODS: We analyzed the clinical, biological and iron characteristics of type-1 GD patients, before and after starting enzyme-replacement therapy (ERT). Iron parameters under ERT were subjected to linear-regression analyses. RESULTS: Serum ferritin (median 739 [46-2371] µg/L) was determined for 54 patients (21 (39%) males; median age 32 [range 12-73] years) before ERT; it exceeded 300 µg/L in 47 (87%), while the other iron parameters always remained normal: transferrin saturation coefficient (26 [16-42]), serum iron at 13 [6-22] mmol/L and transferrin at 2.4 [2,3] g/L. Four patients had mild elevation of liver transaminases, with C-reactive protein >20mg/l in two. The absence of hemolysis was accompanied by a median bilirubin of 9 µmol/L and lactate dehydrogenase at 250 IU/L; diabetes and lipid anomalies were not observed. Clinical, biological and iron parameters at GD diagnosis were comparable for the 12 and 42 patients with ferritinemia ≤400 and >400 µg/L, respectively. Ferritinemia was measured at least once for 46 patients after ERT onset (median treatment duration 90 [3-204] months). At study closure, median serum ferritin was 187.5 [11-1560] µg/L, exceeding 300 µg/L in 15 (33%) patients, while the other iron parameters were normal. Among the latter, only the mean±SD ferritinemia slope decreased significantly under ERT (-1.9±0.3%/month; p<0.001). CONCLUSION: Hyperferritinemia is a specific GD characteristic and serum ferritin monitoring could be informative during follow-up.

IL-8 and its CXCR1 and CXCR2 receptors participate in the control of megakaryocytic proliferation, differentiation, and ploidy in myeloid metaplasia with myelofibrosis.

Myeloproliferation, myelofibrosis, and neoangiogenesis are the 3 major intrinsic pathophysiologic features of myeloid metaplasia with myelofibrosis (MMM). The myeloproliferation is characterized by an increased number of circulating CD34+ progenitors with the prominent amplification of dystrophic megakaryocytic (MK) cells and myeloid metaplasia in the spleen and liver. The various biologic activities of interleukin 8 (IL-8) in hematopoietic progenitor proliferation and mobilization as well as in neoangiogenesis prompted us to analyze its potential role in MMM. We showed that the level of IL-8 chemokine is significantly increased in the serum of patients and that various hematopoietic cells, including platelets, participate in its production. In vitro inhibition of autocrine IL-8 expressed by CD34+ cells with either a neutralizing or an antisense anti-IL-8 treatment increases the proliferation of MMM CD34(+)-derived cells and stimulates their MK differentiation. Moreover, addition of neutralizing anti-IL-8 receptor (CXC chemokine receptor 1 [CXCR1] or 2 [CXCR2]) antibodies to MMM CD34+ cells cultured under MK liquid culture conditions increases the proliferation and differentiation of MMM CD41+ MK cells and restores their polyploidization. Our results suggest that IL-8 and its receptors participate in the altered MK growth that features MMM and open new therapeutic prospects for this still incurable disease.