Use of studies on genome polymorphism in follow up after allogenic bone marrow transplantation

The study of structures polymorphic in size found in the human genom (the VNTR loci) enables us to differentiate two individuals or--after bone marrow transplantation--to detect the simultaneous presence of two genoms in patients' blood or marrow. The existence of mixed chimerism may influence the therapy. The authors have screened 54 patients, transplanted in their Institute, and their donors by determination of four polymorphic loci. Informative marker was found in 43 cases. The bone marrow transplantation immunotherapy of 29 patients could be followed over 2-36 months. To increase the sensitivity of the polymerase chain reaction method used, the authors introduced the blotting/hybridization steps using isotop labeled repetitive sequences. The results are presented in comparison with literature data.