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Significance of fetal hemoglobin-containing erythroblasts (F blasts) and the F blast/F cell ratio in myelodysplastic syndromes

Leukemia volume 16, pages 1478–1483 (2002)Cite this article

Abstract

To investigate the relationship between the fetal hemoglobin-containing erythroblasts (F blasts) and apoptosis in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), we immunohistochemically assessed F blasts, F cells, and apoptosis in 137 patients with MDS. A marked increase in the number of F blasts in the bone marrow was identified in 116 of 137 patients (84.7%), and the number of F cells was elevated in 54 patients (39.4%). Among the erythroblasts stained by anti-glycophorin C antibody, the mean percentage of F blasts was 14.63 ± 9.17% in MDS, which was significantly higher than that in non-MDS patients with stress erythropoiesis (4.82 ± 3.35%, P < 0.01), although there were no significant differences in the number of F cells between these groups. In particular, 62 of the 137 MDS patients (45.3%) had an apparent increase in F blasts but no elevation of F cells. The apoptotic rate was significantly higher in the patients with a F blast/F cell (Fb/Fc) ratio ⩾5.0 than in those with a Fb/Fc ratio <1.0 (P < 0.01). The results indicate that F cell precursors are incapable of maturing into functioning end-stage F cells, presumably owing to apoptotic cell death. The measurement of F blasts in the bone marrow is needed for the precise evaluation of fetal-type erythropoiesis in MDS.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant from DAIKO Foundation.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Nagoya University Hospital, Nagoya, Japan

    JW Choi, Y Kim & M Ito

  2. Department of Clinical Pathology, College of Medicine, Inha University, Inchon, Korea

    JW Choi

  3. Department of Clinical Pathology, College of Medicine, Catholic University, Seoul, Korea

    Y Kim

  4. First Department of Pathology, Nagoya University School of Medicine, Nagoya, Japan

    M Fujino

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  1. JW Choi
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  4. M Ito
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Choi, J., Kim, Y., Fujino, M. et al. Significance of fetal hemoglobin-containing erythroblasts (F blasts) and the F blast/F cell ratio in myelodysplastic syndromes. Leukemia 16, 1478–1483 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2402536

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