Interferon DNA Polymorphism in Chronic Leukemia

Abstract

The interferon (IFN) system (α,β and γ IFNs) is closely related to the first line of defenses against viral and tumoral diseases. Chronic leukemic and chronic lymphoproliferative patients respond in variable degrees to therapy with exogenous IFN. Remission after treatment with IFN-α in hairy cell leukemia (HCL) and in chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML) have been reported by other authors. In order to determine whether there are differences in IFN-α and β genes between healthy and chronic leukemic individuals and among the different chronic leukemic patients, restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analyses was performed in a panel of patients with HCL, CML and chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), and in a sample of healthy individuals. A significant difference in the allelic frequencies for the IFN-β and Sst I enzyme in Chronic leukemias, mainly of myeloid origin, compared with the healthy individuals, was found.

Key Words:

• HCL
• CML
• IFN-α
• RFLP
• IFN-β