The Relationship Between Bcr-Abl1 Related MicroRNA’s Expression Levels And Imatinib Resistance In Chronic Myeloid Leukemia Cases

INTRODUCTION: BCR-ABL fusion gene is targeted in the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia and is essential in its follow-up. MicroRNAs are small RNA molecules with oncogenic and tumor suppressor properties. The aim of this study is to elucidate the roles of BCR-ABL1-related miRNAs in TKI resistance in CML.
METHODS: This study was carried out on peripheral bloods collected from 25 imatinib-sensitive and 25 imatinib-resistant CML patients, and 50 healthy controls. miR-23a, miR-138, miR-181, miR-152-3p and miR-101 expression levels were determined by qRT-PCR.
RESULTS: Our results showed that miR-23a, miR-101, miR-152 and miR-181 were downregulated in CML patients while miR-138 was downregulated in imatinib resistant group compared to sensitive group.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first study comparing miRNA expression levels in imatinib-sensitive and resistant CML cases. miR-138 may have a potential to be an indicator of imatinib resistance. This may provide evidence for potential therapeutic targets as well as novel prognostic biomarkers of imatinib resistanc e in CML.