Restoration of normal polyclonal haemopoiesis in patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia autografted with Ph-negative peripheral stem cells

Only a minority of patients with chronic myeloid leukaemia (CML) benefit from allogeneic bone marrow transplantation (BMT), a potentially curative therapy, or from treatment with interferon alpha, which prolongs survival in cytogenetic responders. In Genoa a programme has been initiated in which CML patients are autografted with Ph-negative peripheral stem cells. To assess the pattern of marrow reconstitution, we studied the clonality of haemopoiesis in five females who engrafted and were Philadelphia chromosome negative. This was performed by evaluating the methylation patterns of the X-linked hypervariable DXS255 locus with the probe M27β. An four analysable women showed polyclonal methylation patterns in both granulocytes and T lymphocytes, suggesting that marrow reconstitution occurred from nornal residual stem cells.