Analysis of EVI1 Gene Expression in Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients in the Northeast of Iran

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease characterized by increasing immature blood cells in the bone marrow. Aberrant expression of specific genes is a common finding in AML. The proto-oncogene EVI1 is located in a 3q26 position that encodes a zinc finger protein. In the present research, we analyzed the expression of EVI1 gene in 88 Iranian patients with AML.

This case-control study was performed in the Cancer Molecular Pathology Research Center of Mashhad University of Medical Sciences. Total RNA was extracted from the bone marrow or peripheral blood mononuclear cells of 88 AML patients and the same number of healthy cases. The expression level of EVI1 was investigated by real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). Relative quantification analysis was performed by comparative CT (2−ΔΔCT) method.

AML patients expressed a high level of EVI1 (32.95%). In addition, a statistically significant relationship was detected between t (8;21) and EVI1 expression (P=0.049). No correlations were found between EVI1 expression and FAB (French American British) classification, and also between FLT3-ITD mutation and white blood cell count (P =0.6). Furthermore, no correlations were found between the level of EVI1 expression and overall survival (P=0.72).

Although EVI1 is highly expressed in peripheral blood mononuclear cells of AML patient, it cannot be considered as an independent prognostic factor.