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Martello M, Solli V, Termini R, Kanapari A, Remondini D, Borsi E, Poletti A, Armuzzi S, Taurisano B, Vigliotta I, Mazzocchetti G, Zamagni E, Merlotti A, Tacchetti P, Pantani L, Rocchi S, Rizzello I, Mancuso K, Cavo M, Terragna C. Identification of a Maturation Plasma Cell Index through a Highly Sensitive Droplet Digital PCR Assay Gene Expression Signature Validation in Newly Diagnosed Multiple Myeloma Patients. Int J Mol Sci 2022; 23:12450. [PMID: 36293315 PMCID: PMC9604171 DOI: 10.3390/ijms232012450] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 09/30/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 02/17/2024] Open
Abstract
DNA microarrays and RNA-based sequencing approaches are considered important discovery tools in clinical medicine. However, cross-platform reproducibility studies undertaken so far have highlighted that microarrays are not able to accurately measure gene expression, particularly when they are expressed at low levels. Here, we consider the employment of a digital PCR assay (ddPCR) to validate a gene signature previously identified by gene expression profile. This signature included ten Hedgehog (HH) pathways' genes able to stratify multiple myeloma (MM) patients according to their self-renewal status. Results show that the designed assay is able to validate gene expression data, both in a retrospective as well as in a prospective cohort. In addition, the plasma cells' differentiation status determined by ddPCR was further confirmed by other techniques, such as flow cytometry, allowing the identification of patients with immature plasma cells' phenotype (i.e., expressing CD19+/CD81+ markers) upregulating HH genes, as compared to others, whose plasma cells lose the expression of these markers and were more differentiated. To our knowledge, this is the first technical report of gene expression data validation by ddPCR instead of classical qPCR. This approach permitted the identification of a Maturation Index through the integration of molecular and phenotypic data, able to possibly define upfront the differentiation status of MM patients that would be clinically relevant in the future.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina Martello
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Vincenza Solli
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Rosalinda Termini
- Clinica Universidad de Navarra, Centro de Investigación Médica Aplicada (CIMA), Instituto de Investigacion Sanitaria de Navarra (IDISNA), CCUN, CIBER-ONC Numbers CB16/12/00369, CB16/12/00489, 31001 Pamplona, Spain
| | - Ajsi Kanapari
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Daniel Remondini
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, DIFA—University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Enrica Borsi
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Andrea Poletti
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Silvia Armuzzi
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Barbara Taurisano
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Ilaria Vigliotta
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Gaia Mazzocchetti
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Elena Zamagni
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Alessandra Merlotti
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, DIFA—University of Bologna, 40126 Bologna, Italy
| | - Paola Tacchetti
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Lucia Pantani
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Serena Rocchi
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Ilaria Rizzello
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Katia Mancuso
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Michele Cavo
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialty Medicine, University of Bologna, 40138 Bologna, Italy
| | - Carolina Terragna
- IRCCS Azienda Ospedaliero-Universitaria di Bologna, Istituto di Ematologia “Seràgnoli”, 40138 Bologna, Italy
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