[Research Advances on Pathogenesis of Myelodysplastic Syndrome]

Myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) is a clonal marrow stem cell disorder, characterized by ineffective haemopoiesis leading to blood cytopenias. As a disease of grey zone, along with the development of research, the exploration on its pathogenesis have been shifted from molecular genetics and the feature of immunophenotype to the epigenetic and micro environment. But at present, the pathogenesis of MDS is still not clear, the research of the molecular genetics and immunophenotype can not meet the needs of experimental and clinical application any longer. The hematopoietic stem cells, cytokines, epigenetic studies, however, have made a lot of achievements. Targeted medicine such as azacitidine and decitabine had promising response in treating MDS patients. In this article the abnormality of stromal cells, cytokines and epigenetic changes in hematopoietic microenvironment of MDS are reviewed in order to optimize the monitoring MDS progress and guide its clinical medication strategy.