Quantification of microRNA-181b in Egyptian Acute Myeloid Leukemia Patients and its Relation to Prognosis

Abstract

Authors Iman M Omar, Dina A Fouad, Deena M M Habashy, Doaa G Eissa, Mariam F Abdel-Maksoud Clinical Pathology Department, Hematology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo-Egypt Correspondence Doaa Gamal Eissa MD, Clinical Pathology, Department, Hematology Unit, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University, Cairo, Egypt Address: 20 Nagatysarag Street, Nasr city, Cairo Email: doaaeissa3@yahoo.com Tel: + 02 27772933 Abstract Unique micro RNA (miRNA) expression signatures are aberrantly expressed in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Certain miRNA signatures have been associated with prognosis of AML, one of these is miR-181b. We aimed to quantify miR-181b in AML Egyptian adult patients and evaluate its prognostic significance in those patients. Eighty newly diagnosed AML patients with 40 age and sex matching healthy volunteers as a control group were studied for the expression of miR-181b by stem-loop quantitative reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRTPCR).miR-181b expression level was higher in patients’ group than controls (p=0.013). Patients with miR-181b  6.0 were associated with favorable molecular abnormalities and most of them achieved complete remission (CR), whereas most of patients with miR-181b< 6.0 were associated with unfavorable ones and failed to achieve CR. Patients with miR181b values ≥ 6 showed significantly higher mean survival than patients with values <6 (35±0.7, 14.6±2 month respectively, p<0.001).Low value of miRNA181b was identified as an independent predictor of bad prognosis. High expression level of miR-181b is detected in Egyptian AML adult patients identifying a distinct group with favorable prognosis