Background:

Myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of disorders characterized by ineffective hematopoiesis and risk of leukemia transformation. There is evidence to suggest the participation of immune system deregulation in MDS pathogenesis. Interleukin-32 (IL-32) is a newly described multifunctional cytokine reported as an important mediator in autoimmune and inflammatory disorders. In the present study, we reported the expression of IL32 and IL32 transcript variants (α, β, γ and δ) in peripheral blood CD3+ cells from healthy controls and MDS patients.

Methods:

CD3+ cells were isolated by immunomagnetic cell sorting from thirty-nine untreated MDS patients and twenty-nine healthy donors. Gene expression was evaluated by quantitative PCR. For statistical analysis, Mann–Whitney test, Kruskal-Wallis test with Dunns post test and Log-rank (Mantel-Cox) were used, as appropriate. A p value <0.05 was considered statistically significant.

Results:

IL32 expression and IL32 transcript variants IL32α, IL32β, IL32γ, and IL32δ, were similar in peripheral blood CD3+ cells from healthy donors and MDS patients. Increased IL-32α expression was an independent predictor for MDS disease progression by univariate and multivariate analysis.

Conclusions:

We observed that IL32 expression is not differently expressed in CD3+ cells from MDS patients; nevertheless IL32α has a potential role in disease progression (AU)