Inflammation-related genes S100s, RNASE3, and CYBB and risk of leukemic transformation in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome with myelofibrosis

Myelodysplastic syndrome with myelofibrosis (MDS-MF) has been associated with an inferior prognosis compared with MDS without MF. However, MDS-MF is not listed independently as a subtype of MDS, and its clinical and genetic characteristics remain poorly understood. We retrospectively compared 53 patients with MDS-MF (44 MF grade 1/MF(1); 9 MF grade 2–3/MF(2 − 3)) and 31 with de novo MDS without MF (MDS). The leukemic transformation risks of both MDS-MF(2 − 3) and MDS-MF(1) were increased compared with the MDS group. To identify the potential mechanisms responsible for the leukemic transformation of MDS-MF, we performed single-cell sequencing for one MDS-MF(2 − 3) patient before and after leukemic transformation to explore the variations in gene expression levels. In addition to upgraded expression levels of acute myeloid leukemia-related genes during leukemic transformation, expression levels of some inflammation-related genes (such as S100s, RNASE3, and CYBB) were also increased, and inflammation-related pathways were up-regulated. These results suggest that inflammation-related genes and pathways may play an important role in the leukemic transformation of MDS-MF. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s40364-021-00304-w.