Global cytokine analysis in myeloproliferative disorders

Recently developed human cytokine array membranes combine the individual assets of enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, enhanced chemiluminescence, and the high-throughput of microspot in order to detect multiple plasma cytokines simultaneously. We employed such a system to evaluate the presence and quantity of 79 different cytokines in the plasma of 20 patients with myeloproliferative disorders (MPDs) that were not on active therapy: 10 with primary myelofibrosis (PMF), 5 with polycythemia vera (PV), and 5 with essential thrombocythemia (ET). Compared to healthy controls, patients with PMF, but not those with either PV or ET, displayed significantly higher levels of tissue inhibitor of metalloproteinase (TIMP-1), macrophage inflammatory protein-1β (MIP-1β), and insulin-like growth factor binding factor-2 (IGFBP-2) (p = 0.013, 0.028 and 0.02, respectively). These results constitute an important conformation for the pathogenetic role of these cytokines in PMF.