J. Brieger et al., THE EXPRESSION OF THE WILMS-TUMOR GENE IN ACUTE MYELOCYTIC LEUKEMIAS AS A POSSIBLE MARKER FOR LEUKEMIC BLAST CELLS, Leukemia, 8(12), 1994, pp. 2138-2143
The Wilms' tumor gene (wt-1) is expressed in the developing fetal kidn
ey, gonads and in Wilms' tumors. Recently, the expression of wt-1 in l
eukemia-derived cell lines and cases of acute leukemias (AL) was repor
ted. The present study was designed to investigate the potential of wt
-1 as genetic marker for acute myelocytic leukemias (AML). Blast cells
from 52 patients with AML, 14 patients in complete remission (CR) and
four leukemic cell lines were examined for expression of wt-1 mRNA. P
eripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMNC) and bone marrow (BM) from 13
healthy persons were used as negative controls. RNA of the wt-1 gene
was expressed in 41/52 (79%) patients with previously untreated AML. T
he majority of the 14 patients studied in CR lost wt-1 expression. In
three out of the four patients in CR reappearance of wt-1 expression p
receded relapse of the disease. In three of the four tested cell lines
wt-1 specific transcription was demonstrated. No correlation to FAB c
lassification, immunophenotype or response to treatment was found. Our
experiments indicate wt-1 expression in the majority of AML, but not
in bone marrow or PBMNC of healthy controls. Therefore, wt-1 expressio
n may be associated with the presence of malignant blast cells and the
analysis of wt-1 gene expression via PCR may be a sensitive method fo
r the detection of leukemic blast cells.