Premium
Increased serum levels of β2m‐free HLA class I heavy chain in multiple myeloma
Author(s) -
Perosa Federico,
Luccarelli Grazia,
Prete Marcella,
Ferrone Soldano,
Dammacco Franco
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
british journal of haematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.907
H-Index - 186
eISSN - 1365-2141
pISSN - 0007-1048
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2141.1999.01635.x
Subject(s) - beta 2 microglobulin , creatinine , medicine , gastroenterology , monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance , multiple myeloma , renal function , endocrinology , immunology , antibody , monoclonal , monoclonal antibody
Serum levels of β2‐microglobulin (β2m)‐free HLA class I heavy chain (FHC) in 94 patients with multiple myeloma (MM) were higher than in 29 patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance (MGUS) ( P = 0.023) and in 97 sex‐ and age‐matched healthy controls ( P < 0.0001). Spearman correlation analysis indicated that in MM, FHC correlated with β2m ( r = 0.31, P = 0.003) and the percentage of bone marrow plasma cells (BMPC%) ( r = 0.36, P = 0.002), whereas β2m, in addition to BMPC% ( r = 0.43, P = 0.0003), also correlated with creatinine levels ( r = 0.63, P < 0.0001), haemoglobin levels ( r = −0.35, P = 0.0007) and patient age ( r = 0.34, P < 0.0011). Furthermore, MM patients with poor prognosis (β2m 6 mg/l) displayed higher FHC levels than those with a better prognosis (β2m < 6mg/l) ( P < 0.021). At variance from β2m, these levels were not influenced by renal failure, as indicated by the lack of Spearman correlation of FHC with creatinine concentration and of statistical significance between the median FHC concentration of MM patients with creatinine < 176.6 μmol/l and those with creatinine 176.6 μmol/l ( P = 0.3). Stratification of patients according to disease activity and stage showed that FHC levels were only statistically different ( P = 0.04) for disease activity, whereas β2m and C‐reactive protein were not. Taken together, our data indicate that serum FHC may be a useful disease marker in MM.