Niveles de citoquinas megacariocitopoyéticas en pacientes con trombocitemia esencial y su relación con características clínicas y bioquímicas / Megakaryopoietic cytokine levels in patients with essential thrombocythemia and their relationship with clinical and biochemical features

La megacariocitopoyesis y la producción de plaquetas están regidas por factores de transcripción y citoquinas presentes en el microambiente medular. La trombocitemia esencial (TE) es una enfermedad mieloproliferativa crónica caracterizada por aumento del recuento de plaquetas e hiperplasia megacariocítica. En el presente trabajo se evaluaron los niveles de las citoquinas que participan en el desarrollo megacariocítico en plasma de pacientes con TE que se encontraban sin tratamiento y los de trombopoyetina (TPO) antes y durante el tratamiento con anagrelide. Las determinaciones se realizaron por técnica de ELISA. Dentro de las citoquinas involucradas en la etapa de proliferación, los niveles de interleuquina 3 (IL-3) se encontraron aumentados en los pacientes (p=0.0383) respecto al grupo control. Los niveles de factor estimulante de colonias granulocito-macrofágico y stem cell factor fueron normales. Dentro de las citoquinas con acción sobre la maduración megacariocítica, tanto la interleuquina 6 como la interleuquina 11 y la eritropoyetina estuvieron normales. Los niveles de TPO antes del tratamiento no difirieron del grupo control y durante el tratamiento aumentaron de manera no significativa. Los pacientes que presentaron agregación espontánea tuvieron niveles más altos de TPO que los que no lo hicieron (p=0.049). Los niveles de las citoquinas no tuvieron relación con ninguno de los parámetros clínicos ni de laboratorio evaluados. El aumento de los niveles de IL-3 podría contribuir al incremento en la proliferación megacariocítica en este grupo. La presencia simultánea de niveles más altos de TPO y trombocitosis sería un factor predisponente para la ocurrencia de agregación espontánea en los pacientes con TE

Megakaryopoiesis and platelet production are driven by transcription factors and cytokines present in bone marrow environment. Essential thrombocythemia (ET) is a chronic myeloproliferative disorder characterized by high platelet count and megakaryocytic hyperplasia. In the present work we evaluated plasmatic levels of cytokines involved in megakaryocytic development in a group of patients with ET that were not on treatment, as well as thrombopoietin (TPO) levels before and during anagrelide treatment. The assays were carried out using ELISA techniques. Among the cytokines mainly involved in proliferation of megakaryocytic progenitors, interleukin 3 (IL-3) levels were found increased in patients compared to normal controls (p=0.0383). Granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor and stem cell factor levels were normal. Interleukin 6, as well as interleukin 11 and erythropoietin (EPO), cytokines mainly related to megakaryocytic maturation, were normal. Plasma TPO levels before treatment were within the normal range and increased during treatment but the difference was not statistically significant. Patients who displayed spontaneous platelet aggregation had higher plasma TPO levels compared to those who did not (p=0.049). We did not find any relationship between cytokine levels and clinical or laboratory parameters. The high IL-3 levels seen in some patients with ET could contribute to megakaryocytic proliferation. The simultaneous occurrence of higher TPO levels and elevated platelet count could be a predisposing factor for the development of spontaneous platelet aggregation in ET patients

Effects of deltamethrin on the growth and differentiation of bone marrow hematopoietic stem cells

1. The effects of deltamethrin on mouse bone marrow and spleen progenitor cell responsiveness to granulocyte and macrophage colony-stimulating factors (CSFs) were evaluated. 2. Deltamethrin (1-5 mg/kg) was administered four times subcutaneously on alternate days for one week to male BALB/c mice, 5-8 weeks old (N = 6 mice/group), raised under pathogen-free conditions and maintained in conventional animal rooms for four weeks before use. Soft agar colony formation (CFU-C), marrow and spleen cell counts as well as body, spleen and thymus weights were determined. 3. Although treatment with the lowest dose (1 mg kg-1 48 h-1) produced no significant effect on CFU-C, the administration of 3 and 5 mg kg-1 48 h-1 caused a more than two-fold increase in the formation of granulocyte and macrophage colonies in the marrow, but not in the spleen (control value = 100.5 +/- 12 for N = 6). Colony numbers returned to normal values within five days after the end of deltamethrin administration. 4. No changes were observed in the total (range: 1-3 x 10(8) per spleen) and differential marrow and spleen cell counts, nor was there any alteration in spleen weight. However, treatment with the three doses resulted in a dramatic reduction in thymus weight. 5. These effects were not due to the liberation of endotoxin, because if endotoxin had been present it would have been < 0.060 ng/ml, a concentration that would not have a biological effect. 6. In vitro addition of 0.10 to 10 microM deltamethrin to marrow cell cultures obtained from untreated mice did not induce any response. 7. These data indicate that the CSF-driven granulocyte and macrophage development provides a useful model for the study of the effects of toxicants on myelopoiesis