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Updated: Jan 26, 2026
In Ovo Xenografting of Patient-Derived Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia (ALL) Cells (PDX-ALL)
Published on: August 1, 2025
[Change of ROCK1 Gene Expression Level in Patients with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Its Clinical Significance]
1Department of Hematology, Suining Central Hospital of Sichuan, Suining 629000, Sichuan Province, China,E-mail：hewenhua1972@126.com.
Insights
ROCK1 gene expression is elevated in acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) patients and correlates with poorer prognosis. Lowering ROCK1 expression may improve therapeutic outcomes for ALL.
Area of Science:
- Molecular Biology
- Oncology
- Genetics
Background:
- Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a significant hematological malignancy.
- The role of specific genes, such as ROCK1, in ALL pathogenesis and prognosis requires further investigation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To determine the expression levels of the ROCK1 gene in patients diagnosed with ALL.
- To evaluate the prognostic significance of ROCK1 gene expression in ALL.
Main Methods:
- Sixty ALL patients and sixty healthy controls were recruited.
- ROCK1 gene expression was quantified using RT-PCR.
- ROCK1 protein levels were assessed via Western blot, and correlations with clinical data were analyzed.
Main Results:
- ROCK1 gene and protein expression were significantly higher in ALL patients compared to controls.
- Elevated ROCK1 expression correlated with age, white blood cell count, LDH, immature cell count, and risk stratification.
- Lower ROCK1 expression was associated with higher complete remission rates, lower relapse rates, and improved overall survival (OS) and disease-free survival (DFS).
Conclusions:
- High ROCK1 gene expression is a characteristic of ALL and may contribute to its development.
- ROCK1 appears to be an independent prognostic factor for OS and DFS in ALL patients.
- Down-regulation of ROCK1 may offer a potential therapeutic strategy to enhance treatment efficacy in ALL.
Objective:
To investigate the expression change of ROCK1 gene in patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) and its prognostic significance.
Methods:
Sixty patients with ALL were selected in our hospital from April 2017 to April 2018, and 60 healthy persons subjected to physical examination were selected as control. The venous blood was taken from the subjects, and then the mononuclear cells were separated. The ROCK1 gene expression level in the samples was detected by RT-PCR, and the expression level of ROCK1 protein was detected by Western blot. The correlation between ROCK1 gene expression and clinical characteristics of ALL patients was analyzed by using statistical methots.
Results:
The RT-PCR showed that the relative expression level of ROCK1 gene in ALL patients was 1.37 (1.28-1.46), which was significantly higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). Western blot showed that the protein expression level of ROCK1 in ALL patients was higher than that in the control group (P<0.05). The expression level of ROCK1 gene correlated with age, WBC count, lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) level, peripheral blood immature cell count, and risk stratification of ALL patients (P<0.05). The expression level of ROCK1 gene did not correlate with sex, hemoglobin (Hb) level, platelet count and immunophenotype in ALL patients (P>0.05). The standard risk ratio of B-ALL and T-ALL patients with low ROCK1 expression was significantly higher than that in patients with high ROCK1 expression (P<0.05). The high risk ratio of B-ALL and T-ALL patients with low ROCK1 expression was significantly lower than those with high ROCK1 expression (P<0.05). The ratio of CR in the group with low ROCK1 expression patients was significantly higher than that in patients with high ROCK1 expression (P<0.05). The Relapse rate of the group with low ROCK1 expression was significantly lower than that of the group with high ROCK1 expression (P<0.05). Kaplan-Meier survival analysis showed that OS and DFS in ALL patients with low ROCK1 expression were superior to those in ALL patients with high ROCK1 expression (P<0.05). Multiple factor Cox regression analysis showed that age and ROCK1 gene were independent influencing factors for OS (P<0.05); leukocyte count and ROCK1 gene were independent influencing factors for DFS (P<0.05).
Conclusion:
The expression level of ROCK1 gene in ALL patients is high, which may stimulate the genesis of ALL, and the down-regulation of ROCK1 gene expression may help improve the therapeutic effect for ALL patients.
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