An article just published in ‘Cell’ describes findings that may lead to detecting bone marrow fibrosis in MPN patients via blood tests rather than bone marrow biopsies.
Researchers and haematologists alike have long wanted to be able to detect fibrosis through less invasive means, but it is a difficult problem to solve.
Here is an extract from the article. It is extremely technical, but we have still included it, as its findings seem to have the potential to transform the way bone marrow fibrosis could be monitored in future for MPN patients. (We will try to organise a more plain English version and include that in this post in the next couple of weeks.)
The full article is freely available HERE.
The summary from the article is copied below.
‘Myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), particularly with myelofibrosis (MF), involve a disrupted perivascular hematopoietic niche, ultimately leading to bone marrow fibrosis. We asked if the transcriptome in cell-free RNA (cf-RNA) from the peripheral blood of patients with MPN (with JAK2V617F mutation) can detect bone marrow fibrosis.
Transcriptomic profiling revealed significant gene expression changes correlating with reticulin fibrosis grades. Advanced reticulin fibrosis grades (2–3) showed upregulation of TGF-? pathways and extracellular matrix (ECM) remodeling markers, with decreased hematopoietic support.
Grade 3 fibrosis was associated with increased proliferation signals and elevated inflammatory markers (S100A8/9). RUNX1 was identified as a key transcription factor in fibrosis, with its overexpression driving myofibroblast differentiation in mesenchymal stromal cells. IL-18 emerged as a critical inflammatory mediator, with elevated plasma levels correlating with the transformation to high-grade fibrosis (reticulin grades 2–3). Functional assays confirmed that the IL-18 stimulation of mesenchymal stromal cells induced fibrotic transformation, emphasizing its role as a biomarker and target.’
