Yonsei Med J.  1997 Aug;38(4):212-219. 10.3349/ymj.1997.38.4.212.

Monitoring of WT-1 gene expression in peripheral blood of patients with acute leukemia by semiquantitative RT-PCR; possible marker for detection of minimal residual leukemia

• Kim SC
• Yoo NC
• Hahn JS
• Lee S
• Chong SY
• Min YH
• Ko YW

• KMID: 699953
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3349/ymj.1997.38.4.212

Abstract

The expression of the WT-1 gene which is found exclusively in human leukemic blasts frequently disappears from bone marrow of leukemia patients in complete remission (CR). Using semiquantitative RT-PCR, we investigated the expression of the WT-1 gene in peripheral bloods (PBs) of 33 patients with acute leukemia (AML 26; ALL 7) and monitored its expression after achievement of CR. None of the 6 normal controls expressed detectable levels of WT-1 transcripts (< 10(-4), background level), whereas 31 (93.9%) of 33 patients expressed variable levels of WT-1 transcripts (range, 10(-4) to 10(1)) at diagnosis. The level of WT-1 expression was not different between AML and ALL. By monitoring WT-1 gene expression in PB of 31 patients during CR, 5 patients relapsed (two from the 18 patients with undetectable levels of WT-1 gene expression and three from the 13 with WT-1 gene expression in low levels). Three of the 5 relapsed patients showed preceding reappearance or rise of WT-1 gene expression. From these results, we reconfirmed that the WT-1 gene is a pan-acute leukemic marker, which can be used to monitor minimal residual leukemia (MRL) after chemotherapy or in patients with CR.

Keyword

Wilms' tumor gene (WT-1); acute leukemia; minimal residual

MeSH Terms

Gene Expression/physiology*
Human
Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Acute/genetics*
Leukemia, Lymphocytic, Acute/blood*
Leukemia, Myelocytic, Acute/genetics*
Leukemia, Myelocytic, Acute/blood*
Neoplasm, Residual
Nephroblastoma/genetics*
Polymerase Chain Reaction
Transcription, Genetic
Tumor Markers, Biological