Objective: To study the expression of transcription factor LYL1 in leukemia and its possible role in leukemogenesis.
Methods: Fluorescence real time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was used to detect the expression levels of LYL1 in leukemias. Specific siRNA was used to silence the expression of LYL1 in K562 cells.
Results: Compared to CD34 positive cells from normal bone marrow, the expression of LYL1 was significantly elevated in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). LYL1 expression was higher in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in blastic crisis than that in chronic phase (7.831 vs 1.672, P < 0.01). LYL1 expression in AML in complete remission (CR) was down-regulated as compared with that of un-remission patients (1.400 vs 9.985, P < 0.01). Down-regulation of endogenous expression of LYL1 in K562 cells by a combination of three specific siRNA could inhibit cellular growth and clonogenicity to some extent.
Conclusion: Over-expression of LYL1 is highly associated with AML as well as ALL. RNA interference targeting specific oncogenes such as LYL1 is potentially useful in the treatment of hematological malignancies.