Gravin gene expression in acute myeloid leukemia

Acute leukemias are caused by genetic and epigenetic mechanisms involving tumor suppressor genes and oncogenes. Aberrant DNA methylation patterns are the most frequent molecular alterations detected in acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Gravin is down-regulated in several solid tumors and is implicated in tumorigenesis. To explore its role in the molecular pathogenesis and its possible prognostic importance in AML, we have evaluated the expression levels of the gravin gene in 83 acute myeloid leukemia patients as compared with controls using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR). Mean gravin expression was 0.53 ± 1.34 and 8.81 ± 11.6 for patients and controls, respectively, and was found to be about 16-fold lower than controls. Gravin gene expression was lower than controls in 83.1 % (69/83) and was similar to controls in 16.9 % (14/83) of cases (p < 0.0001). It was found that there was no significant correlation between gravin expression and laboratory prognostic markers (p > 0.05). Gravin expression was highest in complete remission (1.065 ± 1.79) and lowest in relapse (0.019 ± 0.03) with a statistical difference (p = 0.004). Patients with gravin expression below median level had higher risk to develop relapse (OR = 8.689, 95 % CI = 2.464–30.638; p < 0.0001). No statistical correlation was reported between gravin expression and survival times (OS, DFS) (p = 0.482, 0.409, respectively), and this was confirmed in multivariate analysis. Gravin gene expression was found to be decreased in acute myeloid leukemia, and the degree of its decreased expression has been found to be correlated with poor prognosis.