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Typing by nested PCR–SSP approach raises a question about the feasibility of using this technique for detecting feto-maternal microchimerism

Leukemia volume 20, pages 896–898 (2006)Cite this article

Feto-maternal microchimerism has had a great impact on hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (SCT) in patients with acute leukemia, but the interpretation of studies requires consideration of the technique used, which is especially important because microchimerism is a low-frequency event and there are no standardized methods. In recent years, several groups have reported successful cases of non-T cell-depleted SCT from HLA-haploidentical family members based on feto-maternal microchimerism.1, 2, 3 They selected donors after a microchimerism analysis based on typing using nested polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR–SSP).1, 4 Given the limited specificity of the technique, we sequenced the final products that were suspected to be noninherited maternal antigens (NIMAs) in two adult patients with acute myeloid leukemia.

Both cases involved relapsed patients undergoing haplotype-mismatched peripheral blood SCT using high doses of peripheral blood CD34+ cells together with stratified conditioning regimens.5 Case 1 describes a 35-year-old female patient whose HLA type was A*0101, A*0210, B*4006, B*5701, Cw*0602, Cw*0801, DRB1*1101, DRB1*1201 and the donor was her 10-year-old son whose HLA type was A*0210, A*2401, B*4006, B*5101, Cw*0801, Cw*1401, DRB1*0901, DRB1*1201. Case 2 involves a 21-year-old female patient whose HLA type was A*2402, A*3101, B*5101, B*5901, Cw*0102, Cw*1402, DRB1*0405, DRB1*1101 and the donor was her 48-year-old mother whose HLA type was A*0201, A*2402, B*5401, B*5901, Cw*0102, DRB1*0405, DRB1*0803. We performed nested PCR–SSP for HLA-A to detect potential microchimeric materials, that is, the NIMAs (HLA-A*0101 and HLA-A*0201 for the offspring in Cases 1 and 2, respectively) before SCT.

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Acknowledgements

This study was supported by a grant of the National Cancer Control R&D Program 2003, Ministry of Health & Welfare, Republic of Korea.

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  1. Division of Hematology, Department of Internal-Medicine, Catholic Hemopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation Center, St. Mary's Hospital, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    B-S Cho, H-J Kim, W-S Min & C-C Kim

  2. Catholic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Bank, Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Republic of Korea

    H-B Choi & T-G Kim

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Cho, BS., Choi, HB., Kim, HJ. et al. Typing by nested PCR–SSP approach raises a question about the feasibility of using this technique for detecting feto-maternal microchimerism. Leukemia 20, 896–898 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2404153

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