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Signal Transduction and Cytokines

Clinical and prognostic significance of cytokine receptor expression in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia: interleukin-2 receptor α-chain predicts a poor prognosis

Leukemia volume 21, pages 326–332 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

We quantitatively assessed the expression of cytokine receptors (interleukin-2 receptor (IL-2R), IL-3R, IL-4R, IL-5R, IL-6R, IL-7R, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor R (GM-CSFR), G-CSFR, c-fms, c-mpl, c-kit and FLT3) in cells from 211 adults with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) by flow cytometry and determined their prevalence and clinical significance. Although all cytokine receptors were expressed to various degrees, the levels of IL-3R α-chain (IL-3Rα), IL-2Rα, IL-2Rβ, IL-7Rα, common-Rγ(γc), c-mpl, c-kit and FLT3 exhibited a wide spectrum ⩾2000 sites/cell. Among them, IL-3Rα, IL-2Rα and FLT3 were highly expressed in B-lineage ALL, whereas IL-7Rα, γc and c-kit predominated in T-lineage ALL. Higher levels of IL-3Rα, IL-2Rα, c-kit and FLT3 correlated with the expression of CD13/33. Increased IL-2Rα levels related to the presence of Philadelphia chromosome (Ph), leukocytosis and shorter event-free survival (EFS). C-kit preferred in male. Elevated FLT3 levels correlated with age ⩾60 years. Multivariate analysis in B-lineage ALL revealed only IL-2Rα (P=0.028) and Ph (P=0.020) as independent factors for EFS. These findings suggest that several cytokine receptors associated with certain cellular and clinical features, but IL-2Rα solely had a prognostic value and should be considered as a major prognostic factor for adult ALL that is comparable with Ph.

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Acknowledgements

We gratefully acknowledge Drs T Uchiyama, M Tsudo, T Kitamura, R Ueda and E Tatsumi for supplying mAbs. We also thank Drs T Kobayashi, S Kageyama, H Anazawa and M Masuya (Mie University, Tsu, Japan), K Kawakami (Suzuka Chuo Hospital, Suzuka, Japan), K Oka (Suzuka Kaisei Hospital, Suzuka, Japan), T Sekine (Matsusaka Chuo Hospital, Matsusaka, Japan), A Otsuji (Matsusaka Municipal Hospital, Matsusaka, Japan), K Tsuji and S Tamaki (Yamada Red Cross Hospital, Ise, Japan), and N Kamada (Research Institute for Nuclear Medicine and Biology, Hiroshima, Japan) for important information. This work was supported in part by Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research from the Ministry of Education, Science and Culture, and Grants-in-Aid for Cancer Research from the Ministry of Health and Welfare of Japan.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Hematology and Oncology, Mie University School of Medicine, Tsu, Japan

    K Nakase, K Kita, H Miwa, K Nishii, M Shikami, H Shiku & N Katayama

  2. Department of Internal Medicine, Tokura Hospital, Uji, Japan

    K Kita

  3. First Department of Internal Medicine, Aichi Medical College, Nagakute, Japan

    H Miwa & M Shikami

  4. Department of Internal Medicine, Suzuka Kaisei Hospital, Suzuka, Japan

    I Tanaka

  5. First Department of Internal Medicine, Fukui Medical College, Fukui, Japan

    H Tsutani & T Ueda

  6. Department of Internal Medicine, Osaka Red Cross Hospital, Osaka, Japan

    K Nasu

  7. Department of Internal Medicine, Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan

    T Kyo & H Dohy

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Correspondence to K Nakase.

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Nakase, K., Kita, K., Miwa, H. et al. Clinical and prognostic significance of cytokine receptor expression in adult acute lymphoblastic leukemia: interleukin-2 receptor α-chain predicts a poor prognosis. Leukemia 21, 326–332 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/sj.leu.2404497

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