Expression of cyclin A and bone morphogenetic protein receptors and response to induction therapy in patients with acute leukemias.

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs) are multifunctional cytokines that belong to the transforming growth factor β (TGFβ) family. They participate in the regulation of growth, differentiation and apoptosis in a variety of cell types including hematopoietic lineages. To date, the role of BMPs in carcinogenesis has not been well known. Cyclin A is a cell cycle regulatory protein which plays the role of a parameter of cell proliferation in various types of carcinomas including hematological malignancies. The role of BMPRIA, BMPRIB, BMPRI and cyclin A in the pathogenesis of acute leukemias remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of BMP receptors and cyclin A on blast cells and their possible relationship with clinical outcome. Seventy patients with acute leukemias (28 female and 42 male) and 10 aged-matched healthy controls were studied. All patients were examined before cytostatic treatment. The expression of BMP receptors and cyclin A was detected by flow cytometry. The results show that higher expression of BMPRIA, BMPRIB, BMPRII and cyclin A is related with a higher complete response (CR) rate, higher overall survival (OS) and lower relapse risk. The expressions of BMPRIA, BMPRIB, BMPRII and cyclin A could be useful as prognostic parameters of the proliferation status of acute leukemia cells, but further studies are needed to assess this phenomenon.