Assessment of Relationship between Wilms' Tumor Gene (WT1) Expression in Peripheral Blood of Acute Leukemia Patients and Serum IL-12 and C3 Levels

Abstract

Background: Leukemia is a common cancer among children and adolescents. Wilms' tumor gene (WT1) is highly expressed in patients with acute leukemia. It is found as a tumor associated antigen (TAA) in various types of hematopoietic malignancies and can be employed as a useful marker for targeted immunotherapy and monitoring of minimal residual disease (MRD). In this regard, WT1 is a transcription factor that promotes gene activation or repression depending on cellular and promoter context. The purpose of this study was assessment of WT1 gene expression in patients with acute leukemia, measurement of IL-12 and C3 levels in serum and evaluation of the relationship between them. Materials and Methods: We evaluated the expression of WT1 mRNA using real-time quantitative RT-PCR and serum levels of IL-12 and C3 using ELISA and nephelometry in peripheral blood of 12 newly diagnosed patients with acute leukemia and 12 controls. Results: The results of our study showed that the average wT1 gene expression in patients was 7.7 times higher than in healthy controls (P <0.05). In addition, IL-12 (P = 0.003) and C3 (P <0.0001) were significantly decreased in the test group compared to controls. Conclusions: WT1 expression levels are significantly higher in patients compared with control subjects whereas serum levels of interleukin-12 and C3 are significantly lower in patients. Wt1 expression levels in patients are inversely related with serum levels of IL-12 and C3.

Genetics of blood malignancies among Iranian population: an overview

“…The levels of WT1 expression were conversely correlated with serum levels of IL-12 and C3. WT1 may decrease serum levels of IL-12 and C3 in Iranian acute leukemia patients [91]. Another study has been shown that the WT1 was expressed in leukemic cells of newly diagnosed and relapsed patients among a sub population of Iranian cases.…”

Bacillus Calmette–Guérin Immunotherapy for Cancer

“…The most promising TAA is the Wilms tumor gene product (WT1), which is highly expressed during acute leukemia and found in various hematopoietic types of neoplasms. Therefore, it is a useful marker for targeted immunotherapy [ 59 ]. Recently, Nishida et al, (2019) [ 60 ] performed a phase I dose-escalation study of BCG-CWS in association with WT1 peptide in patients with advanced cancer.…”

Combined usage of Wilms' tumor gene quantitative analysis and multiparameter flow cytometry for minimal residual disease monitoring of acute myeloid leukemia patients after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells transplantation

“…The transcript of the Wilms' tumor gene (WT1) is detectable in the bone marrow (BM) of 90% of patients with AML by RT-qPCR ( 7 ). WT1 encodes a zinc finger transcription factor with a complex pattern of alternative splicing with different binding specificities locating at chromosome 11p13.…”