MiR-15a-5p, c-MYB, and circHIPK3 Axis as a Potential Diagnostic and Clinicopathological-Related Network in Acute...

Due to heterogeneity of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) in prognosis and response to treatment, understanding the pathophysiology of AML helps to find new factors as diagnostic and clinicopathological-related biomarkers and therapeutic targets.

Using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction on AML patients, the expression of the miR15a-5p, c-MYB, and circ-HIPK3 gene network was measured, and the diagnostic performance and clinical application value of this gene network were also investigated.

In AML patients compared with healthy controls, the expression of mir-15a-5p and circ-HIPK3 significantly decreased, and the expression of c-MYB was significantly upregulated. Furthermore, c-MYB correlates with circ-HIPK3 positively. The areas under receiver operating characteristic curves (AUCs) of miR15a-5p, c-MYB, and circ-HIPK3 were 0.675, 0.885, and 0.762, respectively. Also, peripheral blood, as a noninvasive and cost-effective diagnostic sample, has good diagnostic value for the investigation of the mir15a-5p, c-MYB, and circ-HIPK3 genes. Finally, the change in circ-HIPK3 expression and red blood cell count showed a significant relationship.

The results can contribute to a better pathophysiology understanding of AML, lead to the discovery of new diagnostic biomarkers, and develop treatment goals for patients. Also, the relationship between the genes and the clinicopathological characteristics of the patients helps patient monitoring.