Related Experiment Video
Updated: Apr 25, 2026
Author Spotlight: Analyzing Bone Marrow Microenvironment in Murine Hematological Malignancies
Published on: November 10, 2023
miR-146a expression level as a novel putative prognostic marker for acute promyelocytic leukemia
Lan Xu1, Hua Zhong1, Haixia Wan1
1Department of Hematology, Ren Ji Hospital, School of Medicine, Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Shanghai 200127, China.
Background:
Although the curative rate for acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL) has been improved over decades, long-term prognosis is still poor. The genetic pathways that regulated cell lineage fate during the development of APL remain unclear.
Methods:
We investigated the correlations of miR-146a expression with its target gene Smad4 and the biological behaviors of NB4 cells. We also analyzed their expression in clinical samples from APL patients.
Results:
miR-146a influenced apoptosis and proliferation in NB4 cells. miR-146a influenced endogenous Smad4 protein levels in APL cells. miR-146a expression levels were positively correlated with white cell counts and PML/RARα fusion protein expression. miR-146a expression levels were negatively correlated with Smad4 protein and the helper T cell (Th)/the suppressor T cell (Ts) ratio in these patients.
Conclusions:
These findings indicated that miR-146a played an important role in the development of APL in part through the repression on Smad4 protein expression. miR-146a functioned as an oncogene and may be a novel prognostic biomarker in APL.
