"Minisatellite" DNA probes detect engraftment and/or chimerism in recipients of HLA-matched bone marrow transplants

A study was carried out to determine whether the minisatellite DNA probes described by Jeffreys and coworkers could be used routinely to analyze engraftment, hematopoietic chimerism, and relapse in recipients of bone marrow transplants. The probes were informative for all of the recipient/donor pairs analyzed. Their limit of sensitivity was determined in reconstruction experiments and was found to vary from 2%, in the best cases, to 10%. We were able to confirm that engraftment and hematopoietic chimerism can, indeed, be sought routinely using this simple molecular approach. Only one set of probes is required for all patients and, unlike cytogenetic analysis, this analysis can be used whether or not blood or marrow cells are dividing.