[Detection of SALL4 mRNA expression in leukemia by real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR]

This study was purposed to establish a real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR (FQ-PCR) for quantifying SALL4 mRNA and to investigate its expression in different types of leukemia patients. SALL4 mRNA expression were measured in 60 leukemia patients of different periods and 10 normal controls sequentially by FQ-PCR. The results showed that the expression of SALL4 mRNA in de novo leukemia patients and relapsed patients was higher than that in controls (P < 0.05), which was significantly decreased at complete remission (CR). In relapsed patients, the expression of SALL4 mRNA increased slightly higher than that in de novo leukemia group, but the difference was not statistically significant (P > 0.05). However, the expression of SALL4 mRNA was low in CLL, T-ALL and AML-M3. The expression pattern of BMI-1 was same as SALL4, and the expression of BMI-1 positively correlated with that of SALL4 in leukemia (r = 0.825, P < 0.01). It is concluded that the detection of SALL4 gene expression in acute and chronic leukemia by real-time gTR-PCR displays high sensitivity and specificity. SALL4 gene may be one of indicators for monitoring the therapeutic outcome of partial leukemia and minimal residual disease.