Identification of New Markers Discriminating Between Myeloid and Lymphoid Acute Leukemia

The heterogeneity of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) with respect to biology and clinical course resides in the fact that patients belonging to the same group show marked differences in their response to chemotherapy, which would necessitate a refinement of AML classification. In order to contribute to define molecular markers for AML we realized microarray assays on two M5 AMLs and selected four differentially expressed genes to validate their expression by RQ-PCR. We have shown that two down-regulated genes in AML, Guanine nucleotide binding protein (G protein) gamma 11 (GNG11) and Amphiregulin are also down-regulated in B-ALL and T-ALL patients. We have found a gene, Ceruloplasmin, which is up-regulated in AML but not in B-ALL and T-ALL. The level of expression of these genes varies from one patient to another. Since the group of patients studied is limited, further studies must carry on with a larger series of patients to be able to make subdivision according to the expression of GNG11, Amphiregulin and Ceruloplasmin. Our study is the first to analyze these genes in AML, B-ALL, T-ALL and CL patients by quantitative real time PCR. This rapid and sensitive method could be used to screen these genes in different types of leukemia.