Tumori 2012 Mar-Apr;98(2):252-6

SET oncogene is upregulated in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia.

Sirma Ekmekci S, G Ekmekci C, Kandilci A, Gulec C, Akbiyik M, Emrence Z, Abaci N, Karakas Z, Agaoglu L, Unuvar A, Anak S, Devecioglu O, Ustek D, Grosveld G, Ozbek U.
Istanbul University, Institute of Experimental Medicine, Department of Genetics, Istanbul, Turkey.

Abstract

AIMS AND BACKGROUND:

The SET gene is a target of chromosomal translocations in acute leukemia and encodes a widely expressed multifunctional phosphoprotein. It has been shown that SET is upregulated in BCR-ABL1-positive cell lines, patient-derived chronic myeloid leukemia CD34-positive cells, and some solid tumors.

METHODS AND STUDY DESIGN:

We determined the expression level of SET in 59 pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia patients who were BCR-ABL-negative using quantitative real-time reverse-transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Results. We showed that SET expression was significantly upregulated in 96.5% of B-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (28 of 29; 16.6 fold) and 93% of T-acute lymphoblastic leukemia (28 of 30; 47.6 fold) patients. This upregulation was not associated with any clinical features or overall and relapse-free survival.

CONCLUSIONS:

Our results showed that SET is significantly overexpressed in pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia samples, and an increased level of SET might contribute to leukemic process.