Allele Specific PCR: A Cost Effective Screening Method for MPL Mutations in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

MPL W515L/K Mutations in Chronic Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

OBJECTIVE The MPL gene encodes the thrombopoietin receptor. Recently MPL mutations (MPL W515L or MPL W515K) were described in patients with essential thrombocythemia (ET) and primary (idiopathic) myelofibrosis (PMF). The prevalence and the clinical importance of these mutations are not clear. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the frequency and clinical significance of MPL W515L/K mu...

Allele-specific PCR for a cost-effective & time-efficient diagnostic screening of spinal muscular atrophy

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES Genetic diagnosis of spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is complicated by the presence of SMN2 gene as majority of SMA patients show absence or deletion of SMN1 gene. PCR may amplify both the genes non selectively in presence of high amount of DNA. We evaluated whether allele-specific PCR for diagnostic screening of SMA is reliable in the presence of high amount of genomic DN...

JAK2, MPL, and CALR Testing for Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

Calreticulin Mutations in Myeloproliferative Neoplasms

With the discovery of the JAK2V617F mutation in patients with Philadelphia chromosome-negative (Ph(-)) myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs) in 2005, major advances have been made in the diagnosis of MPNs, in understanding of their pathogenesis involving the JAK/STAT pathway, and finally in the development of novel therapies targeting this pathway. Nevertheless, it remains unknown which mutations...

Deep sequencing reveals double mutations in cis of MPL exon 10 in myeloproliferative neoplasms.

Somatic mutations of MPL exon 10, mainly involving a W515 substitution, have been described in JAK2 (V617F)-negative patients with essential thrombocythemia and primary myelofibrosis. We used direct sequencing and high-resolution melt analysis to identify mutations of MPL exon 10 in 570 patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms, and allele specific PCR and deep sequencing to further characteri...