Lnc-BRMS1L-4 and ZEB1-AS1 Expression in Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia and Its Correlation With Acute Graft-Versus-Host...

Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a cancer involving the malignant transformation and uncontrolled growth of lymphoid blood cells, characterized by various chromosomal abnormalities and genetic alterations. This study aimed to assess the expression levels of the long noncoding RNAs Lnc-BRMS1L-4 and ZEB1-AS1 in patients with ALL compared with healthy controls. A cross-sectional investigation of 112 newly diagnosed adult ALL patients is described. All patients received standard chemotherapy, consisting of daunorubicin. Cytogenetic analysis with G-banding and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) was used to detect chromosomal abnormalities. The study also included 37 patients who received hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from human leukocyte antigen-matched donors. A subset of ALL patients was also assessed for concurrent COVID-19 infection. Blood samples were collected and peripheral blood mononuclear cells were isolated. RNA extraction and quantification of Lnc-BRMS1L-4 and ZEB1-AS1 mRNA expression was performed using SYBR green real-time PCR. Statistical analysis was done using SPSS version 18 (IBM). Lnc-BRMS1L-4 and ZEB1-AS1 expression levels were significantly higher in ALL patients than in healthy individuals, suggesting a potential association with the disease that warrants further investigation. T cell-associated ZEB1-AS1 expression significantly exceeded that of B cell ALL individuals among ALL subtypes. ZEB1-AS1 expression was significantly higher in patients with BCR/ABL cytogenetic abnormalities than in Philadelphia chromosome-negative B cell ALL cases. ZEB1-AS1 levels were also higher in patients with COVID-19-positive status than in those without, which may indicate a connection between viral infection and the molecular pathways involving this oncogenic long noncoding RNA. These findings highlight the importance of ZEB1-AS1 in the pathogenesis of ALL and suggest its roles in disease characterization and possibly in therapeutic targeting.