TELOMERE REDUCTION OF SPECIFIC CHROMOSOME-TRANSLOCATION IN ACUTE MYELOCYTIC-LEUKEMIA

The length of telomere restriction fragments (TRF) was studied by Southern blotting in 42 patients with acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) including 15 patients with 8;21 translocation, 8 with 15;17 translocation and 19 with a normal karyotype. The TRF length of leukemic cells with a normal karyotype and with 8;21 or 15;17 translocation showed significant reduction compared to that of lymphocytes from normal individuals (P<0.05). In addition, there was a statistically significant difference in TRF length between leukemic cells with a normal karyotype and 8;21 translocation (P<0.05). Therefore, the significant difference of telomere reduction in 8;21 translocation may be an important factor in the leukemogenic process.