Low IL-23 levels in peripheral blood and bone marrow at diagnosis of acute leukemia in children increased with the elimination of leukemic burden.

IL-23 is an IL-12 cytokine family member with pleiotropic functions that regulates tumour growth in various cancer types, exhibiting both anti-tumorigenic and pro-tumorigenic properties. Preclinical studies have shown a potential anti-leukemic action on childhood B-ALL cells. The study involved 65 children with acute leukemia [59 patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and 6 patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML)] and 27 healthy controls. Using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, we aimed to determine the IL-23 levels in the peripheral blood (PB) and bone marrow (BM) of patients at diagnosis and at the end of the induction therapy (EIT). PB IL-23 levels were lower in leukemia patients compared to the healthy controls. In all acute leukemia patients, IL-23 levels were significantly lower at diagnosis both in PB (P = .015) and in BM (P = .037) compared to the PB and BM concentrations at the EIT. The same pattern was present in both subgroups of ALL and AML patients. The high leukemic burden at diagnosis was related with lower IL-23 levels, which were increased with the disease remission. Considering the anti-leukemic potential of this cytokine, the elevation of the IL-23 concentration at the disease remission indicates a beneficial role of IL-23 in paediatric acute leukemia.

STAT transcript levels in childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia: STAT1 and STAT3 transcript correlations.

We investigated the transcript levels of genes STAT1, STAT3, STAT5A and STAT5B in the diagnostic samples of childhood ALL patients and compared them to those of healthy controls in order to characterize STAT gene expression in childhood ALL. As compared to controls, ALL patients exhibit markedly decreased transcript levels in all four genes investigated. STAT1 and STAT3 are significantly correlated in ALL patients as opposed to controls (P<0.0005). Patients with low transcript levels of STAT1 and STAT3 survive, regardless of minimal residual disease status and relapse. Lower transcript levels appear in association with a particularly high survival outcome in the ALL patients. The identification of aberrant expression profiles provides insight into the role of STAT genes in the development of childhood ALL and enables development of patient-tailored therapeutic approaches in cases of resistant disease.