Am J Leuk Res | Volume 3, Issue 1 | Research Article | Open Access

Monitoring Minimal Residual Disease in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Using WT1 Expression Level in Relation to Immunopheno Typing

Frouzandeh Mahjoubi1, Jalil Tavakkol Afshari2, Saeed Talebi2,3,4, Neda Ashayeri5, Masoud Golalipour1, Azam Brouk2 and Zahra Badiei4*

1Department of Clinical Genetics, National Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology, Iran
2Department of Immunogenetics, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran
3Department of Molecular Biology and Medical Genetics, Iran University of Medical Sciences, Iran
4Department of Hematology and Oncology, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Iran
5Department of Pediatric Hematology and Oncology, Ali-asghar pediatric hospital, Iran

*Correspondance to: Zahra Badiei 

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Abstract

Objective: Continuous Wilms Tumor gene (WT1) expression is a typical feature of leukemic blasts. Conversely, WT1 is only transiently expressed in normal hematopoiesis. Therefore detection of the submicroscopic levels of leukemic cells (MRD) in peripheral blood samples from children with A WT1 level in children with ALL by a quantitative method based on the Real-time quantitative RTPCR (RQ-PCR) and assessed its relation to the immunophenotypic ALL subtypes.
Materials and Methods: Twelve newly diagnosed ALL children with different immunophenotypic features were included in this study. The peripheral blood samples were collected before induction, at the second week of induction, at the start of consolidation and beginning of the maintenance phase of chemotherapy. The last blood sample was collected from each patient 2 to 6 months after the maintenance phase started. For RQ-PCR we have used Light Cycler device and SYBR Green I dye. K562 cell line was considered as the control sample and the expression level of WT1 in K562 was defined as 1.0E+4.
Results: At diagnosis the WT1expression level in patients with T-cell immunophenotype was as the same level of K562 cell line (p=0.185). This level was significantly higher than the level in Early pre-B cell ALL patients (p=0.012). There was no significant expression changes in pre-B cell ALL patients in all stages of therapy. In patients with T-cell ALL the expression showed accordance with the clinical course of patients. WT1 was undetectable in the fifth samples of patients with pre-B cell ALL.
Conclusion: These preliminary results indicated that WT1 is better to be employed to monitor MRD in the leukemic patients with T-cell ALL during chemotherapy.

Keywords:

Leukemia; Genes; Residual; Real-Time polymerase chain reaction; WT1

Citation:

Mahjoubi F, Afshari JT, Talebi S, Ashayeri N, Golalipour M, Brouk A, et al. Monitoring Minimal Residual Disease in Pediatric Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Using WT1 Expression Level in Relation to Immunopheno Typing. Am J Leuk Res. 2019;3(1):1015.

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