Involvement Value of FLT-3, c-Myc, STAT3, p27, and HOTAIR Gene Expression in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients: A Molecular Perspective to a Novel Leukemogenesis Mechanism

Naser Shagerdi Esmaeli; Shahin Asadi; Davood Bashash; Sina Salari; Mohsen Hamidpour

doi:10.18502/ijhoscr.v17i3.13304

Naser Shagerdi Esmaeli Department of Hematology and Blood Banking, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Shahin Asadi Department of Hematology and Blood Banking, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Davood Bashash Department of Hematology and Blood Banking, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Sina Salari Department of Medical Oncology, Hematology and Bone Marrow Transplantation, Taleghani Hospital, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
Mohsen Hamidpour HSC Research Center, Department of Hematology and Blood Banking, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran

DOI: https://doi.org/10.18502/ijhoscr.v17i3.13304

Keywords: Acute myeloid leukemia; LncRNAs; Gene expression; HOTAIR; FLT-3

Abstract

Background: The identification of long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) in the pathogenesis of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) has marked a new era in the molecular understating of the disease. This study investigated the correlation between the changes in the expression of lncRNAs, including HOTAIR, PVT-1, and CRNDE, and the alteration in the expression profile of FLT-3, c-Myc, STAT3, STAT5, and p27 in AML patients.

Materials and Methods: Blood samples were collected from forty-one newly diagnosed AML patients and ten healthy individuals to evaluate the expression levels of the study genes using qRT-PCR analysis. The probable correlation between the gene expressions was determined using Pearson’s correlation test.

Results: The results showed that while there was a significant elevation in the expression of FLT3, c-Myc, STAT3, and HOTAIR, p27 expression remarkably diminished in AML patients compared to the control group. Also, a correlation was found between the expression of FLT-3 and p27 and the expression of HOTAIR and STAT3. It was assumed that FLT-3 had a role in increasing the proliferative and survival capacity of AML cells, at least partly, through c-Myc-mediated suppression of p27. Moreover, lncRNA HOTAIR showed to be involved in leukemia proliferation assumably by enhancing the expression of STAT3.

Conclusion: Overall, the results of gene profile analysis suggested that studying the expression of HOTAIR, FLT-3, c-Myc, STAT3, and p27 could be helpful to AML patients, and each of these genes could be a valuable target for pharmaceutic intervention.