Role of neuropilin-1 and its expression in Egyptian acute myeloid and acute lymphoid leukemia patients.

Neuropilins are expressed in tumors vasculature and cells. Their expression is thought to be correlated with tumor angiogenesis and progression. In this study, we analyzed NRP-1 expression level in 40 acute leukemia patients [20 acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and 20 acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL)] and 10 healthy controls using Real-Time Quantitative Reverse-Transcriptase Polymerase Chain Reaction (RTQ-PCR) aiming to show Neuropilin-1 (NRP-1) gene expression pattern in acute leukemia patients and its role in disease severity and progression. NRP-1 was expressed in 80% and 95% of ALL and AML respectively with levels higher in patients than controls and in ALL than AML patients. NRP-1 levels were significantly correlated with blast percentage and complete remission. We conclude that NRP-1 is significantly associated with acute leukemia and that its level might serve as an indicator for disease severity and progression. NRP-1 signaling may represent a novel therapeutic approach for the treatment of acute leukemia subsets.