Different distribution of DNA polymerases ? and ? in bone marrow and peripheral blood from human leukemia

An activity gel method was used to analyze the catalytic polypeptides of polymerases ? and ? in human acute myeloblastic and lymphoblastic leukemia. A 175 kDa ?-polymerase was found in 85% of bone marrow and in 57% of peripheral blood samples. At variance, a 40 kDa ?-polymerase was found in 94% of peripheral blood and only in 12% of bone marrow samples. No difference in the pattern of polymerase expression was found according to the type of leukemia and the disease status. The role of these enzymes in leukemia and their implications in drug sensitivity are discussed.