Histologic and molecular characterizations of megakaryocytic leukemia in mice

Received 1 June 2005; received in revised form 17 August 2005; accepted 18 August 2005.

Abstract

Six cases of megakaryocytic leukemia (MKL) were identified and analyzed for morphology and molecular features. MKL were composed of megakaryocyte lineage cells ranging from immature to quite mature cells. VWF, GATA1 and RUNX1 were strongly expressed in megakaryocytes in both normal spleen and MKL as analyzed by immunohistochemistry (IHC). Altered expression of Meis1, Pbx1 and Psen2 and Lef1 in MKL detected with oligonucleotide microarrays was confirmed by qPCR and IHC. This is the first report of spontaneous MKL in mice, defining VWF as a biomarker for diagnosis and suggesting possible involvement of a series of genes in disease pathogenesis.

Keywords: Megakaryocytic leukemia, Mouse, Microarray, Immunohistochemistry, Molecular profiling

a Laboratory of Immunopathology, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National Institute of Health, Rockville, MD 20852, USA

b Comparative Medicine Branch, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH, Rockville, MD 20852, USA

Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 301 594 2344; fax: +1 301 402 0077.

PII: S0145-2126(05)00327-9

doi:10.1016/j.leukres.2005.08.021

7 of 21