Molecular Dissection of the 5q Deletion in Myelodysplastic Syndrome

The 5q-syndrome is a subtype of myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) with a defined clinical phenotype associated with heterozygous deletions of chromosome 5q. While no genes have been identified that undergo recurrent homozygous inactivation, functional studies have revealed individual genes that contribute to the clinical phenotype of MDS through haplo-insufficient gene expression. Heterozygous loss of the RPS14 gene on 5q leads to activation of p53 in the erythroid lineage and the macrocytic anemia characteristic of the 5q-syndrome. The megakaryocytic and platelet phenotype of the 5q-syndrome has been attributed to heterozygous deletion of miR145 and miR146a. Murine models have implicated heterozygous loss of APC, EGR1, DIAPH1, and NPM1 in the pathophysiology of del(5q) MDS. These findings indicate that the phenotype of MDS patients with deletions of chromosome 5q is due to haplo-insufficiency of multiple genes.