High expression of heat shock protein 90 alpha and its significance in human acute leukemia cells

•The expression of Hsp90α was investigated in leukemia cell lines.•Hsp90α expression in the untreated patients was higher.•Hsp90α was highly expressed in leukemia cells.•The expression level of Hsp90α was associated with leukemia prognosis.•Occurrence of graft versus host disease and Hsp90α expression has no relationship.

This study investigated the expression of heat shock protein 90 alpha (Hsp90α) in acute leukemia cells. The expression of Hsp90α was investigated in leukemia cell lines and human bone marrow mononuclear cells derived from acute leukemia patients and from healthy individuals using polymerase chain reaction, Western blot, and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Compared with cells from healthy individuals, the expression of Hsp90α in the untreated patients was higher. Similarly high levels were observed in remission patients. Significantly higher expression levels were observed in all the tested cell lines, and in cells from refractory and relapsed patients. No obvious relationship was observed between the occurrence of graft versus host disease and the expression of Hsp90α. The untreated patients showing higher expression levels of Hsp90α had lower complete remission rates. During remission of untreated patients, the expression of Hsp90α decreased and reached the lowest level after transplantation, but the expression increased again before relapse. Hsp90α was highly expressed in leukemia cells. The expression level of Hsp90α was associated with leukemia prognosis. However, no obvious relationship was observed between the occurrence of graft versus host disease and the expression of Hsp90α.