Expression profiling study uncovers phase-specific microRNA alterations in chronic myeloid leukemia patients, highlighting molecular targets driving disease progression and relapse.
Key Points
To identify microRNA expression profiles across various phases of chronic myeloid leukemia and functionally annotate their disease-related target pathways.
Performed microRNA microarray profiling in patients across five clinical phases of chronic myeloid leukemia: diagnosis, hematological relapse, therapy failure, blast crisis, and major molecular response.
Validated candidate microRNA deregulation using real-time quantitative PCR and conducted in silico target prediction and pathway annotation.
Identified differential expression profiles of 49 microRNAs, validating the deregulation of miR-150, miR-20a, miR-17, miR-19a, miR-103, miR-144, miR-155, miR-181a, miR-221, and miR-222.
Observed decreased miR-150 levels at diagnosis, in blast crisis, and in 67% of hematological relapses, showing significant negative correlations with BCR-ABL transcript levels and its verified target MYB.
Mapped predicted microRNA targets to cell cycle regulation and key oncogenic signaling pathways, including MAPK, EGFR, TGFB1, and p53.