Aberrant expression and significance of OCT-4A transcription factor in leukemia cells

ObjectiveTo determine the contribution of the OCT-4 to the pathogenesis of leukemia.MethodsBone marrow (BM) samples obtained from 72 patients with leukemia, and 18 normal healthy subjects were assayed for their OCT-4 expression using both flow cytometry and RT-PCR.ResultsOCT-4 expression in BM nucleated cells of acute leukemia patients (n = 33) was significantly higher than that of complete remission and chronic phase leukemia patients (n = 39, p < 0.001) and healthy donors (n = 18, p < 0.001). OCT-4 expression had a significant positive relation with CD34 expression (n = 43, r = 0.721, p < 0.001) and the proportion of naive cells (n = 60, r = 0.687, p < 0.001). In addition, the results of QRT-PCR detection showed that the OCT-4A had increased expression in BM nucleated cells in the patients with acute leukemia (n = 33, median 16.585, range 0.38-169.62) compared to that in leukemia patients with chronic phase and in complete remission (n = 39, median 3.34, range 0.04-44.49, p < 0.001) and that of normal controls (n = 18, median 2.89, range 0.18-16.23, p < 0.001).ConclusionOCT-4A expression was significantly increased in the BM nucleated cells of patients with acute leukemia, indicating that OCT-4A may play an important role in the pathogenesis of leukemia and may serve as a molecular target for the development of novel diagnostic and treatment strategies in leukemia.