Abo Elwafa R, Abd Elrahman A, Ghallab O. Long intergenic non-coding RNA-p21 is associated with poor prognosis in chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
Clin Transl Oncol 2020;
23:92-99. [PMID:
32468342 DOI:
10.1007/s12094-020-02398-4]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 05/12/2020] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND
Long non-coding RNAs (LncRNAs) are RNA transcripts longer than 200 nucleotides. They are new players in transcriptional regulation and cancer research. LincRNA-p21 is a p53-regulated lncRNA involved in the p53 transcriptional network. It has an important role in regulating cellular proliferation and apoptosis. Chronic lymphocytic leukemia is derived by a typical defect in apoptosis and characterized by clonal proliferation and accumulation of mature B cells. The aim of the present study was to assess the expression pattern of the lincRNA-p21 and investigate its potential role as a new prognostic marker in CLL.
METHODS
The study was conducted on 80 newly diagnosed CLL patients and 80 age- and sex-matched controls. The analysis of LincRNA-p21 and the p53 downstream proapoptotic target genes (MDM2, PUMA, BAX, and NOXA) was performed by real-time PCR. The cytogenetic abrasions and expression of ZAP70 and CD38 were detected by FISH and Flow cytometry, respectively.
RESULTS
LincRNA-p21 was significantly downregulated in CLL patients compared to controls. The downstream proapoptotic targets were significantly downregulated in CLL patients and positively correlated with lincRNA-p21. Low expression of lincRNA-p21 was associated with poor prognostic markers (advanced stages of CLL, del 17p13, ZAP70, and CD38 expression), failure of complete remission, shorter progression free survival, and overall survival. Low lincRNA-p21 expression was independently prognostic for shorter time to treatment.
CONCLUSION
Low expression of lincRNA-p21 demarcates a more aggressive form of CLL with poor prognosis. Therefore, it could be considered as a new prognostic marker to predict disease outcome in CLL.
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