Presence of t(14; 18) translocation in healthy individuals varies according to ethnic background in the Brazilian population

Several groups have demonstrated that healthy individuals can present the t(14;18) translocation. In this report, the presence of the translocation was examined in healthy blood donors in Brazil, a country considered an ethnic melting pot. The translocation was detected by nested PCR in 227 peripheral blood samples from individuals with different ethnic backgrounds. The t(14;18) translocation was found in 45 of 85 White individuals (52.94%); in 57 of 72 Black individuals (79.17%); and in 68 of 70 individuals (97.14%) of Japanese-descent. In conclusion, the frequency of the t(14;18) translocation in the Brazilian population varies according to the ethnic background.

Circulating endothelial cells are increased in chronic myeloid leukemia blast crisis

We measured circulating endothelial precursor cells (EPCs), activated circulating endothelial cells (aCECs), and mature circulating endothelial cells (mCECs) using four-color multiparametric flow cytometry in the peripheral blood of 84 chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients and 65 healthy controls; and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) by quantitative real-time PCR in 50 CML patients and 32 healthy controls. Because of an increase in mCECs, the median percentage of CECs in CML blast crisis (0.0146%) was significantly higher than in healthy subjects (0.0059%, P<0.01) and in the accelerated phase (0.0059%, P=0.01). There were no significant differences in the percentages of CECs in chronic- or active-phase patients and healthy subjects (P>0.05). In addition, VEGF gene expression was significantly higher in all phases of CML: 0.245 in blast crisis, 0.320 in the active phase, and 0.330 in chronic phase patients than it was in healthy subjects (0.145). In conclusion, CML in blast crisis had increased levels of CECs and VEGF gene expression, which may serve as markers of disease progression and may become targets for the management of CML.