• miR-155 and miR-92 levels in ALL, post-transplant aGVHD, and CMV: possible new treatment options
  • Mahdiyar Iravani saadi,1,* Mohsen Nikandish,2 Zahra Ghahramani,3 Fatemeh Mardani Valandani,4 Maryam Ahmadiyan,5 Fakhroddin Hosseni,6
    1. Hematology Research center Shiraz university Of medical sciences
    3. Hematology Research center Shiraz university Of medical sciences
    4. Hematology Research center Shiraz university Of medical sciences
    5. Hematology Research center Shiraz university Of medical sciences
    6. Hematology Research center Shiraz university Of medical sciences


  • Introduction: Acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) is a malignancy of lymphoid progenitor cells. Occurring 80% of the time in children, it still constitutes a catastrophic disease when it comes to adults [1]. ALL is classified as B and T lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL, B-ALL) [2]. In adults, 75% of cases develop from precursors of the B cell lineage, with the remainder of cases consisting of malignant T cell precursors [1]. ALL can be cured in 90% of children, whereas only 40% of adult patients respond to treatment, possibly due to chromosomal abnormality and insensitivity to treatment. The hallmarks of ALL are chromosomal abnormalities and genetic alterations impacting the differentiation and proliferation of lymphoid precursor cells [1, 3]. Many ALL subtypes are characterized by constellations of structural rearrangements, submicroscopic DNA copy number alterations, and sequence mutations, several of which have clear implications for risk stratification and targeted therapeutic intervention [4]. Recently, an increasing number of studies showed that the microRNA (miRNA) expression profiles in acute leukemia have cooperative interactions in the development of leukemia. Therefore, the miRNA expression profile can be used as biomarkers in diagnosis, differential diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of hematologic cancers [5]. In developed countries, the overall survival of patients with ALL has increased to more than 80%; however, those children cured of ALL still show a significant risk of short and long-term complications as a consequence of their treatment. Accordingly, there is a need not only to develop new methods of diagnosis and prognosis but also to provide patients with less toxic therapies [6].
  • Methods: In this cross-sectional study, 70 newly diagnosed adults with ALL were recruited. The expression level of microRNA-155(miR-155) and microRNA-92(miR-92) was evaluated by real-time SYBR Green PCR. The correlations between the miRNAs mentioned above and the severity of disease, CMV infection, and acute graft vs. host disease after hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) were assessed. B cell and T cell ALL distinction in the level of miRNAs was provided.
  • Results: After the statistical analysis, our results indicated a marked increase in the expression of miR-155 and miR-92 in ALL patients vs. healthy controls (*P = 0.002–*P = 0.03, respectively). Also, it was shown that the expression of miR-155 and miR-92 was higher in T cell ALL compared to B cell ALL (P = 0.01–P = 0.004, respectively), CMV seropositivity, and aGVHD.
  • Conclusion: Our study suggests that the plasma signature of microRNA expression may act as a powerful marker for diagnosis and prognosis, providing knowledge outside cytogenetics. Elevation of miR-155 in plasma can be a beneficial therapeutic target for ALL patients, with consideration of higher plasma levels of miR-92 and miR-155 in CMV + and post-HSCT aGVHD patients.
  • Keywords: miRNA, CMV, aGvHD , PBMCs , HSCT