Comparative proteomic analysis of patients with acute myeloid leukemia before and after induction therapy

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a malignant disorder of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, characterized by accumulation of immature blasts in the bone marrow and peripheral blood of affected patients. Response to chemotherapy treatment in patients with AML is wide-ranging, and to date there are no adequate molecular biomarkers used to predict clinical outcome.

The aim of this study was to identify potential protein biomarkers which could help predict response to induction treatment in AML patients.

Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 15 AML patients both before and after treatment. A comparative proteomic analysis was performed using 2D gel electrophoresis followed by Mass Spectrometry.

This comparative proteomic study, combined with a protein network analysis, revealed several proteins that could be considered potential biomarkers of poor prognosis in AML: GAPDH which favors increased glucose metabolism; eEF1A1 and Annexin A1 that promote proliferation and migration, cofilin 1 which plays a role in the activation of apoptosis; and GSTP1 which is involved in the processes of detoxification and chemoresistance.

This study gives an insight into a panel of protein biomarkers with prognostic potential that should be further investigated.