Bone Marrow Urokinase Plasminogen Activator Receptor Levels are Associated with the Progress of Multiple Myeloma

Objective To determine the mRNA and protein levels of urokinase plasminogen activator receptors (uPAR) in bone marrow fluid and bone marrow tissue from multiple myeloma (MM) patients and assess association of uPAR level with prognosis of MM. Methods uPAR levels in bone marrow fluid of 22 MM patients at the stable and progressive stages and 18 iron deficiency anemia patients with normal bone marrow (control) were examined by ELISA. Furthermore, uPAR expression in bone marrow tissue was investigated by RT-PCR and Western blot, respectively. The distribution of uPAR in MM cells was examined using immunofluorescence staining. The pathological changes in different stages of MM patients were studied by HE staining. Results uPAR level in bone marrow fluid of MM patients (1.52±0.32 μg/ml) was found to be higher than that in the control group (0.98±0.15 μg/ml). Interestingly, uPAR protein (0.686±0.075 vs. 0.372±0.043, P P Conclusion Our study reveals that uPAR expression is positively correlated with the development and progress of MM.