Myeloid lineage‐selective growth of revertant cells in Fanconi anaemia

S Hamanoue, H Yagasaki, T Tsuruta… - British journal of …, 2006 - Wiley Online Library
S Hamanoue, H Yagasaki, T Tsuruta, T Oda, H Yabe, M Yabe, T Yamashita
British journal of haematology, 2006Wiley Online Library
Fanconi anaemia (FA) is a genetically heterogeneous chromosome instability syndrome
characterised by bone marrow failure and congenital anomalies. Although an increasing
number of reports suggest that reversion mosaicism noted in peripheral blood lymphocytes
(PBLs) is associated with mild haematopoietic failure in FA, myeloid cells are rarely directly
examined. We here report a patient with prolonged mild pancytopenia in whom proliferation
of revertant cells was detected in mature myeloid cells but not in PBLs. While this patient had …
Summary
Fanconi anaemia (FA) is a genetically heterogeneous chromosome instability syndrome characterised by bone marrow failure and congenital anomalies. Although an increasing number of reports suggest that reversion mosaicism noted in peripheral blood lymphocytes (PBLs) is associated with mild haematopoietic failure in FA, myeloid cells are rarely directly examined. We here report a patient with prolonged mild pancytopenia in whom proliferation of revertant cells was detected in mature myeloid cells but not in PBLs. While this patient had inherited heterozygous mutations, 2546delC and 3720–3724del, in the major FA gene FANCA, Epstein–Barr virus‐immortalised lymphoblastoid cells from the patient had 2546C > T instead of 2546delC, resulting in expression of a functional missense protein. As the identical reversion was detected in polymorphonuclear granulocytes and mononuclear phagocytes, sustained haematopoiesis in the patient can be attributed to a selective growth advantage of revertant myeloid cells. It is noteworthy that such a myeloid lineage‐selective mosaicism is overlooked in routine examination of PBLs. Recognition of this status will expand the role of reversion mosaicism in the pathophysiology of FA.
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