JAK2 GGCC (46/1) Haplotype in Unprovoked Venous Thrombotic Events
Authors: Al-Ammari Maged , Peer Zada Abdul Ali , Motabi Ibraheem H. , Albtoosh Belal M. , Altaf Syed Y. , Tailor Imran K. , Alnoamani Mohammed S. , Zaidi Syed Ziauddin A , Alfayez Mansour , Alshehry Nawal F , Marei Mohammed A. 
Published: November 2021

Background: JAK2 GGCC 46/1 haplotype can be represented by four main SNPs (rs3780367, rs10974944, rs12343867, and rs1159782) which replace one cytosine and three thymidines by two guanosines and two cytosines, generating a "GGCC" combination. These four SNPs located on JAK2 introns 10, 12, 14, and 15, respectively, and are always inherited together, being in complete linkage disequilibrium. The 46/1 component of the name came from Jones et al. study where the haplotype structure of the JAK2 gene was mapped using 14 SNPs genotyped by the Wellcome Trust Case Control Consortium (WTCCC) in 1500 healthy blood donors. Two haplotypes (numbers 46 and 1) were found to be identical except for one SNP, and they have a combined frequency of 0.24 in healthy individuals. Numerous observational studies associate this haplotype with myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs), as well as splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT) and non-splanchnic vein thrombosis (non-SVT). In contrast to 24% frequency noted in healthy population, the frequency goes up to 40-80% in JAK2 V617F mutated MPN, and in 64% of those with JAK2 exon 12 mutations (Anelli et al. IJMS, 2018). We herein report our study of JAK2 GGCC (46/1) Haplotype in unprovoked Venous Thrombotic Events (VTE) in patients with negative thrombophilia workup, including negative JAK2 V617F mutation.

Methods: We retrospectively identified patients positive for one of the two SNPs (rs12343867 and rs10974900) and unprovoked venous thrombotic among adult patients with negative thrombophilia workup (including JAK2 mutation) treated at tertiary care center from January 2018 to January 2021.

Results: We have identified 8 patients, Table (1), that were positive for JAK2 46/1 haplotype SNPs, of whom 62.5% were homozygous 2/2, 25% heterozygous 1/2, while only 12.5% harbor homozygous 1/1 (a normal variant of JAK2 haplotype). The median age 48.5 years (23-65), and the majority (87.5%) were females. Thrombosis site was noted to be SVT in half of the patients, while non-SVT was noted in the other half (12.5% had cerebral vein thrombosis, 12.5% had deep venous thrombosis, 12.5% had a pulmonary embolism, and 12.5% had jugular vein thrombosis). Half of the patients had more than one site venous thrombosis and the other half had only one site. Around 37.50% of the patients had recurrent venous thrombosis on top of therapeutic anticoagulation. Two patients (25%) had high hemoglobin (17.4/16.7) g/dl, but did not fulfill the criteria for polycythemia vera diagnosis (of whom one is a male smoker and one was a female). None of the patients had leukocytosis or thrombocytosis. By imaging, one patient had mild splenomegaly which could be related to SVT.

Conclusion: We report on a potential correlation between unprovoked thrombotic events, mainly venous thrombotic events, with JAK2 46/1 haplotype in patients with a negative thrombophilia workup, a finding that merit further investigation.

Figure 1 Figure 1.

Disclosures

No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.