Serum MicroRNAs: -28-3p, -31-5p, -378a-3p, and -382-5p as novel potential biomarkers in acute lymphoblastic leukemia

Abstract

IntroductionAcute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is the most common malignancy in children and accounts for 20% of acute leukemia in adults. Recently, microRNAs (miRNAs) have been described as important molecules in hematologic malignancies. This study aimed to evaluate the expression levels of miR-28-3p, miR-31-5p, miR-378a-3p, miR-382-5p in patients with ALL. Materials and methodsIn this study, 21 patients with ALL (before and after treatment) and 21 healthy people were evaluated. After directly synthesizing cDNA from serum, miR-28-3p, miR-31-5p, miR-378a-3p, miR-382-5p expression were measured using the qRT-PCR method. Data were analyzed using SPSS 20, Genex 6.1, and GraphPad Prism8 software. ResultsThe expression levels of miR-378a-3p and miR-31-5p in patients with newly diagnosed ALL were significantly higher than in healthy individuals (P = 0.001, P = 0.004), and decreased significantly after treatment. (P = 0.04, P = 0.03). The expression of miR-28-3p and miR-382-5p in patients with newly diagnosed ALL were significantly lower than healthy individuals (P = 0.09, P = 0.01) and were increased significantly after treatment (P = 0.001, P = 0.006). ConclusionOur results indicated that miR-28-3p, miR-31-5p, miR-378a-3p, miR-382-5p may have a potential role in the pathogenesis of the disease; and also could be considered as a diagnostic marker and therapeutic target in ALL in future studies.