Protein disulfide isomerase may be involved in the underlying pathogenesis of thrombotic events in Philadelphia-negative myeloproliferative neoplasms such as myelofibrosis (MF), according to a new study published in the Egyptian Journal of Internal Medicine.
It could also be valuable in predicting the risk of developing thromboembolic events, the researchers noted.
These findings suggest that protein disulfide isomerase could be used as a therapeutic target to prevent thrombotic events in patients with MF and other myeloproliferative neoplasms.
For the study, a team of researchers, led by Mai Galal Elshenoufy, MD, PhD, from Cairo University in Egypt, measured the levels of protein disulfide isomerase in the serum of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms and assessed its role as a possible marker of increased risk of thromboembolic events.
They found that the levels of the enzyme were pathologically high in the serum of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasms compared to controls. The levels were also higher in patients with arterial thrombosis, but this finding had no statistical significance.
Future work should evaluate the levels of protein disulfide isomerase in a larger group of patients with myeloproliferative neoplasm with and without thrombotic events, and in patients with arterial versus venous thrombosis, they said.
Finally, measuring the levels of protein disulfide isomerase before and after aspirin therapy could give clues about the effect of this treatment, they added.