Fatemeh Salarpour1, Kourosh Goudarzipour2, Mohammad Hossein Mohammadi3, Ahmad Ahmadzadeh4, Sara Faraahi1, Atefeh Allahbakhshian5, Mehdi Allahbakhshian Farsani3. 1. Laboratory Hematology and Blood Bank Department, School of Allied Medical Sciences, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran. 2. Pediatric Congenital Hematologic Disorders Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Science, Tehran, Iran. 3. Laboratory Hematology and Blood Bank Department, Faculty of Paramedical, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences; HSCT Research Center, Shahid Beheshti University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran. 4. Research Center of Thalassemia and Hemoglobinopathy, Health Research Institute, Ahvaz Jundishapur University of Medical Science, Ahvaz, Iran. 5. Department of Medical Surgical, Nursing and Midwifery Faculty, Tabriz University of Medical Sciences, Tabriz, Iran.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Growth factor independence 1 (GFI1), a transcriptional repressor, is required for hematopoietic stem cell maintenance and self-renewal in addition to controlling differentiation and proliferation of myeloid cells. As murine studies have demonstrated that this transcription factor has a notable role in the initiation and progression of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) disease, the aim of the current study was to investigate and review the influence of GFI1 in human AML cells. METHODS: GFI1 expression levels were measured by means of real-time polymerase chain reaction in 96 primary AML samples which were then compared to gene expression levels observed in 18 healthy subjects. Moreover, GFI1 expression patterns were analyzed based on specific AML subtypes including acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Finally, leukemic cells were stained to measure levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. RESULTS: This study reports that AML patients have significantly higher GFI1 mRNA levels in comparison to healthy subjects and that, when considering AML subtypes, patients with APL have higher GFI1 expression than non-APL patients. CONCLUSION: It is also concluded that GFI1 overexpression in patients with high MPO levels, such as those of the APL subtype, is correlated with favorable disease prognosis as supported by other studies which demonstrate that increased peroxide activity and GFI1 are independently correlated with a favorable prognosis.
OBJECTIVE: Growth factor independence 1 (GFI1), a transcriptional repressor, is required for hematopoietic stem cell maintenance and self-renewal in addition to controlling differentiation and proliferation of myeloid cells. As murine studies have demonstrated that this transcription factor has a notable role in the initiation and progression of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) disease, the aim of the current study was to investigate and review the influence of GFI1 in human AML cells. METHODS: GFI1 expression levels were measured by means of real-time polymerase chain reaction in 96 primary AML samples which were then compared to gene expression levels observed in 18 healthy subjects. Moreover, GFI1 expression patterns were analyzed based on specific AML subtypes including acute promyelocytic leukemia (APL). Finally, leukemic cells were stained to measure levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity. RESULTS: This study reports that AML patients have significantly higher GFI1 mRNA levels in comparison to healthy subjects and that, when considering AML subtypes, patients with APL have higher GFI1 expression than non-APL patients. CONCLUSION: It is also concluded that GFI1 overexpression in patients with high MPO levels, such as those of the APL subtype, is correlated with favorable disease prognosis as supported by other studies which demonstrate that increased peroxide activity and GFI1 are independently correlated with a favorable prognosis.