[Expression of SALL4 and BMI-1 mRNA in acute leukemia]

This study was aimed to investigate the expression of SALL4 and BMI-1 mRNA in acute leukemia (AL) and its clinical significance. mRNA expression levels of SALL4 and BMI-1 in 62 AL patients and 10 controls were measured by semi-quantitative reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR). The results showed that (1) the expression of SALL4 mRNA were up-regulated in AL (except M3 and T-ALL), and the expression of of SALL4 mRNA in AML was significantly higher than that in B-ALL (p<0.05); expression was negative in 9 out of 10 controls, and expression level of SALL4 mRNA in one case was low; (2) the expression of SALL4 in de novo AL was higher than that in controls, which significantly decreased at complete remission (CR). The difference between CR group and de novo group was statistically significant (p<0.05). In relapsed patients, the expression of SALL4 increased, slightly higher than that in de novo AL group (p>0.05); (3) the expression pattern of BMI-1 was the same to that of SALL4 except the up-regulation in M3, and the expression of BMI-1 was positively correlated with that of SALL4 in acute leukemia (r=0.684, p<0.01). It is concluded that SALL4 and BMI-1 expressions are up-regulated significantly in acute leukemia, which may contribute to the development of leukemia, thus become an important index for evaluation of development, relapse and prognosis in acute leukemia.