Expression Profile of LncRNAs in Childhood Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia: A Pilot Study

Introduction: Childhood acute lymphoblastic leukemia (cALL) explains 26% of pediatric malignancies and is one of the important reasons of disease-related death in children. A novel molecular class of non-protein coding genes, long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) having over 200 nucleotides, have been defined as regulators of different processes of cells such as pluripotency, oncogenesis, and transcription. Furthermore, it has been demonstrated that lncRNA transcription profiles can distinguish pre-B cALL subtypes accurately and can act as prognostic biomarkers. Methods: In this study, 80 blood samples (both ALL and safety specimens) were obtained from patients with a definite diagnosis of cALL by specialists and pathologists. RNA was extracted from whole blood samples, and cDNA was synthesized from RNA. Real-time PCR was used to determine the lncRNAs (RP11-68I18-10, RP11-624C23.1, RP11-446E9, RP11-137H2.4, and RP11-203E8) genes expression in cALL patients. P-value= 0.050 was considered significant. Results: Our findings revealed that the lncRNAs RP11-624C23.1,RP11-446E9,RP11-137H2, RP11-68I18-10,RP11-203E8 expressions level was significantly decreased in cALL samples compared with healthy samples (P<0.0001, P =0.0616, P =0.0292, P<0.0001 and P = 0.0007). Also, in our studies, the relationship between these five lncRNAs expression changes and the immune-phenotype in ALL patients did not show a significant association. Conclusion: Investigating the expression level changes of these lncRNAs provides novel and interesting possibilities for mastering the treatment of cALL.