Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
Pivot Concepts:   Target Concepts:
Query: UMLS:C0019214 (hepatosplenomegaly)
 4,408 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

c-mpl, the cellular homologue of the v-mpl oncogene transduced in the myeloproliferative leukemia virus (MPLV), encodes the receptor for thrombopoietin, a cytokine involved in the proliferation and differentiation of cells of the megakaryocytic lineage. Here, we show that a retrovirus containing murine c-mpl cDNA (HSFmmpl) is pathogenic in vivo when inoculated in adult mice. All mice developed hepatosplenomegaly and died within 9 to 12 weeks after infection. Histological analysis showed that spleen, liver, and peripheral blood were invaded by erythroblasts at every stage of differentiation. In contrast to the myeloproliferative syndrome induced by MPLV, we did not observe an infiltration of these organs with cells from the granulocytic lineage nor a thrombocytosis. In fact, the platelet count of HSFmmpl mice progressively decreased and a severe thrombocytopenia was observed late in the course of the disease. Further characterization of the target progenitor of HSFmmpl virus in the spleen and bone marrow of diseased animals was accomplished using in vitro clonogenic progenitor cell assays. This analysis indicated that both late and early erythroid compartment (colony-forming unit-erythroid and burst-forming unit-erythroid) were largely increased in the spleens. The colony-forming unit-granulocyte-macrophage compartment was also increased but to a lesser extent. This study shows for the first time that ectopic expression of a member of the cytokine receptor superfamily promotes hematopoietic progenitor cell proliferation and could play a role in leukemogenesis.
 ...
PMID:Ectopic expression of murine TPO receptor (c-mpl) in mice is pathogenic and induces erythroblastic proliferation. 878 21

The present study reports the hematopoietic response to the exogenous administration of recombinant rhesus interleukin-3 (rrIL-3) or a combination of recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF)/erythropoietin (Epo)/thrombopoietin (Tpo) at two different stages of SIV infection: Early-stage (n = 6, CD4 + > 1000/microl and mild splenomegaly) and late-stage (n = 6, CD4 + < 500/microl, progressive hepatosplenomegaly and/or weight loss). SIV-infected animals exhibited significantly impaired bone marrow (BM) and peripheral blood (PB) responses to both rrIL-3 and rhG-CSF/Epo/Tpo administration, as compared to historic controls. In addition, compared to early-stage SIV-infected animals, late-stage SIV-infected macaques demonstrated a more marked dysfunction, as assessed by PB and BM CD34 + content and clonogenic progenitors (colony-forming unit). Neither rrIL-3 nor rhG-CSF/Epo/Tpo administration during either early-stage or late-stage SIV infection increased the viral load, as assessed by bDNA assay. These data suggest that hematopoietic reserve and the response to various cytokines is decreased even in early-stage SIV infection, with the hematopoietic dysfunction progressing in parallel to SIV infection.
 ...
PMID:Hematopoietic response to lineage-non-specific (rrIL-3) and lineage-specific (rhG-CSF, rhEpo, rhTpo) cytokine administration in SIV-infected rhesus macaques is related to stage of infection. 1095 Apr 51

BACKGROUND: Agnogenic myeloid metaplasia (AMM) is one of the Philadelphia chromosome negative myeloproliferative disorder and is diagnosed by hyperplasia of atypical megakaryocytes, hepatosplenomegaly, extramedullary hematopoiesis and bone marrow fibrosis. Fibrosis is considered to be a secondary consequence of enhanced levels of fibrogenic growth factors such as TGF beta1, bFGF and PDGF produced by enhanced numbers of megakaryocytes, while the primary cause is considered to be the enhanced proliferation of a defective stem cell. We have previously reported that thrombopoietin (TPO) is elevated in patients with AMM. Others have reported that Mpl protein is decreased in these patients. Since TPO is essential for the development of megakaryocytes, and Mpl protein is the receptor for TPO, we extended the study of TPO/Mpl to in vitro and in vivo cell culture systems to better understand the mechanism that leads to reduced Mpl protein in AMM patients. RESULTS: Plasma TPO levels were significantly elevated and Mpl protein levels were significantly reduced in AMM patients in concordance with previous studies. Platelet Mpl transcripts in AMM were however similar to those in controls. We also cloned Mpl cDNA from AMM patients and tested for their ability to make functional proteins in vitro and in the in vivo system of 293 T human embryonic kidney cells. Their expression including the glycosylated forms was similar to those from the controls. We also measured the level of translation initiation factor, eIF4E and found it to be increased in patients with AMM demonstrating that the reduced Mpl protein may not be due to translation defects. CONCLUSIONS: Our studies using the in vitro and in vivo systems further confirm that reduced Mpl protein levels are not due to defects in its transcription/translation. Reduced Mpl protein could be due to its increased internalisation owing to enhanced plasma TPO or in vivo intrinsic defects in patients with AMM.
 ...
PMID:TPO/Mpl Studies in Agnogenic Myeloid Metaplasia. 1569 82