[Relationships Between Expression level of MicroRNA-146a, STAT1 Protein and Clinical Characteristics in Children with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia].

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the relationships between expression levels of serum microRNA-146a, STAT1 protein and clinical characteristics in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). METHODS: A total of 102 children diagnosed as ALL in our hospital from June 2014 to June 2016 were enrolled, and were compared by into groups according to clinical characteristics including sex, age, lymphocyte type, disease risk, chemotherapy stage and gene mutation. Fifty healthy children were chosen as control group. The relative expression of microRNA-146a and STAT1 gene was detected by real-time RT-PCR and the relative level of STAT1 protein was detected by Western blot. The difference of microRNA-146a and STAT1 protein levels between clinical factors and laboratory indexs were compared. Followed-up for 3 years, The difference of overall survival (OS) rates between ALL children with different microRNA-146a and STAT1 protein were compared. RESULTS: The levels of microRNA-146a, STAT1 mRNA and protein in ALL children were significantly higher than those in control group (P＜0.05), but there were no significantly differences in sex, age and lymphocyte type grouping in ALL children (P＞0.05). There were significantly differences in different disease risk, chemotherapy stage and gene mutation groups in ALL children (P＜0.05). Followed-up for 3 years, the OS rate of ALL children with high microRNA-146a and STAT1 protein levels were better than those with low microRNA-146a and STAT1 protein levels (P＜0.05). CONCLUSION: The up-regulation of microRNA-146a and STAT1 protein may be involved in occurrence and development of ALL, which closely relates to clinical characteristics in ALL children, such as disease risk, chemotherapy stage and gene mutation.

[Expression Level of LKB1 Gene in Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Its Correlation with Illness Condition].

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the expression level of LKB1 gene in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), and analyze its correlation with illness condition of patients. METHODS: The 98 patients with leukemia in our hospital were divided into two groups according to the diagnosis of patients: ALL group (56 cases) and ANLL group (42 cases). The 50 healthy persons subjected to physical examination were selected as control group. The peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) were separated from the venous blood samples of three groups, and the expression levels of LKB1 gene were detected by RT-PCR and were compared among three groups. Patients in ALL group were divided into two groups according to the expression level of LKB1 gene: low expression group (39 cases) and high expression group (17 cases). Follow-up 3 years, the curves of OS and DFS in two groups were gained by Kaplan-Meier analysis. The ratios of CR and recurrence were compared between two groups. The related risk factors (all P<0.05) influencing the survival of patients with ALL were confirmed by multivariate logistic analysis. RESULTS: The expression level of LKB1 gene of control group was 1.56(1.38-1.74)>ALL group 1.32(1.22-1.40)>ANLL group 0.89(0.78-1.02). There were statistical differences among the three groups (all P<0.05). Compared with low expression group, the CR rate in high expression group were higher, but the recurrence rate were lower in high expression group (all P<0.05). Follow-up 3 years, the OS and DFS rates in high expression group were higher than those in low expression group (all P<0.05). There was negative relation between expression level of LKB1 gene and clinical risk level of ALL patients (r=-0.712, P=0.039). For standard risk ALL, the patients in LKB1 low expression group was significantey lower than that in high expression group; and for high risk ALL, the patients in LKB1 low expression group was significant higher than that in high expression group. Multivariate logistic analysis showed that the age (OR=2.872, P=0.020), peripheral blood immature cell count (OR=2.268, P=0.028) were independent risk factors for survival of patients with ALL, and the expression level of LKB1 gene (OR=0.426, P=0.016) is protective factor. CONCLUSION: The expression level of LKB1 gene in patients with ALL is low, moreover the more low expression level of LKB1 gene were, the more severe ill condition and more poor prognosis were.

Association between the MDM2 T309G polymorphism and leukemia risk: a meta-analysis.

Several studies have suggested associations between MDM2 (mouse double minute 2 homolog) polymorphisms and leukemia risk, but they reported contradictory results. For better understanding of the effect of MDM2 T309G polymorphism on leukemia risk, we performed a meta-analysis. All eligible studies were identified through a search of PubMed, Web of Science, EMBASE, and Chinese Biomedical Literature (CBM) databases before May 2014. Assessment of associations between the MDM2 T309G polymorphism and leukemia risk was conducted by odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CIs). Finally, a total of 11 publications covering 12 case-control studies with 2, 362 cases and 5, 562 controls concerning MDM2 T309G polymorphism with respect to leukemia were included in the meta-analysis. Significant associations were found between MDM2 T309G polymorphism and leukemia risk in four models in overall populations (G vs T: OR=1.29, 95% CI=1.11- 1.49, p=0.001; GG vs TT: OR=1.67, 95% CI=1.21-2.30, p=0.002; GG vs TG/TT: OR=1.56, 95% CI=1.21-2.00, p=0.001; GG/TG vs TT: OR=1.28, 95% CI=1.05-1.57, p=0.015). In the sub-group analysis according to ethnicity, increased leukemia risks were observed in three genetic models among Asians but not Caucasians. In conclusion, the results of our meta-analysis suggest that the MDM2 T309G polymorphism can increase the risk of leukemia, especially among Asian populations.