This study retrospectively analyzed glioma-associated oncogene 1 (GLI‑1) mRNA expression in unfractionated bone marrow aspirates of 32 patients with myelofibrosis and 16 controls. It was found that GLI‑1 expression did not significantly differ between primary, secondary myelofibrosis and controls (median difference in threshold cycles ∆CT 7.2, 7.3 and 6.9, respectively; P = 0.864), as well as that survival curves of myelofibrosis patients with higher/lower GLI‑1 expression showed multiple overlaps and overall comparable course (P = 0.651). The results suggest that general upregulation of GLI‑1 does not seem to be a feature of the disease and are in line with modest biological and clinical effects observed with inhibitors of Hedgehog signaling pathway in patients with myelofibrosis.
Keywords: Bone marrow fibrosis; Philadelphia negative myeloproliferative neoplasm; Smoothened; Sonic Hedgehog.