Expression and Significance of HOXA9 in Patients with Myelodysplastic Syndromes

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the expression pattern of HOXA9 in myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) patients and its relation with clinical characteristics and treatment response. METHODS: The mRNA and protein expression levels of HOXA9 in bone marrow cells from 33 cases of MDS, 12 cases of AML, 20 cases of ITP and 18 normal controls were detected by real-time guautitative PCR(RT-PCR) and flow cytometry, respectively. RESULTS: The percentage of HOXA9(+)/CD34(+) and HOXA9(+)/CD34(+)CD38(-) in MDS patients were significantly higher than that in control group (P<0.05), and the mRNA and protein expression of HOXA9 in MDS patients had a similar trend. The percentages of HOXA9(+)/CD34(+) and HOXA9(+)/CD34(+)CD38(-) before decitabine treatment were (50.64±27.59)% and (55.67±28.57)% respectively, which were both higher than those in control group (P<0.05). After decitabine treatment, expression of HOXA9 significantly decreased (P<0.05). CONCLUSION: HOXA9 is overexpressed in MDS patients and associated with several clinical characteristics. The detection of HOXA9 expression may have guide roles for diagnosis and treatment of MDS patients.