Quantitative analysis of Cyclin D1 and CD23 expression in mantle cell lymphoma and B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia.

We studied Cyclin D1 (CyD1) and CD23 mRNA expression with real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (RQ-PCR) method. CyD1 expression in peripheral blood of seven mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) patients was found to be 1305.4 times higher than in 24 B-chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) patients. CD23 expression in CLL was found to be 54.8 times higher than in MCL. These differences were statistically significant, and no overlap was found in CyD1 expression intensities between MCL and CLL. RQ-PCR allows rapid, simple and accurate quantification of CyD1 and CD23 expression, even from small samples, and is thus useful for the diagnosis of MCL and CLL.