Circulating cytokines and small molecules follow distinct expression patterns in acute myeloid leukaemia

Although aberrant expression of cytokines and small molecules (analytes) is well documented in acute myeloid leukaemia (AML), their co-expression patterns are not yet identified. In addition, plasma baselines for some analytes that are biomarkers for other cancers have not been previously reported in AML.

We used multiplex array technology to simultaneously detect and quantify 32 plasma analyte (22 reported analytes and 10 novel analytes) levels in 38 patients.

In our study, 16 analytes are found to be significantly deregulated (13 higher, 3 lower, Mann-Whitney U-test, P-value <0.005), where 5 of them have never been reported before in AML. We predicted a seven-analyte-containing multiplex panel for diagnosis of AML and, among them, MIF could be a possible therapeutic target. In addition, we observed that circulating analytes show five co-expression signatures.

Circulating analyte expression in AML significantly differs from normal, and follow distinct expression patterns.