Media type: E-Article Title: New data shed light on Y‐loss‐related pathogenesis in myelodysplastic syndromes Contributor: Ganster, Christina; Kämpfe, Dietrich; Jung, Klaus; Braulke, Friederike; Shirneshan, Katayoon; Machherndl‐Spandl, Sigrid; Suessner, Susanne; Bramlage, Carsten P.; Legler, Tobias J.; Koziolek, Michael J.; Haase, Detlef; Schanz, Julie Published: Wiley, 2015 Published in: Genes, Chromosomes and Cancer, 54 (2015) 12, Seite 717-724 Language: English DOI: 10.1002/gcc.22282 ISSN: 1045-2257; 1098-2264 Origination: Footnote: Description: Loss of the Y‐chromosome (LOY) is described as both a normal age‐related event and a marker of a neoplastic clone in hematologic diseases. To assess the significance of LOY in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS), we determined the percentage of LOY in clonal CD34+ peripheral blood cells in comparison to normal CD3+ T‐cells of 27 MDS patients using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) analysis. Results were compared with the percentage of LOY in CD34+ and CD3+ cells of 32 elderly men without hematologic diseases and in 25 young blood donors. While LOY could not be detected in CD3+ cells of young men, it was observed in CD3+ cells of elderly men without hematologic diseases (2.5% LOY) as well as in CD3+ cells of elderly MDS patients (5.8% LOY). The percentage of CD34+ cells affected by LOY was significantly higher in MDS patients compared to elderly men without hematologic diseases (43.3% vs. 13.2%, P = 0.005), indicating that LOY has an age‐related basis but is also associated with MDS. Furthermore, we aimed to define a threshold between age‐ and disease‐associated LOY in MDS. Statistical analysis revealed that a value of 21.5% LOY in CD34+ peripheral blood cells provided the best threshold to discriminate between these two conditions in MDS. We conclude that LOY is clonal in a substantial number of MDS based on an age‐related predisposition. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.