WT1 Gene Expression In Leukemia Patients And Its Clinical Significance

Objective: To evaluate the expression of Wilms'tumor gene(WT1) in leukemia patients and its clinical significance. Methods: Expression of WT1 gene was detected in 53 actue leukemia (AL) and 15 chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients, 21 healthy subjects by RT-PCR. Results: Expression of WT1 gene was detectable in 41 of 53 acute leukemia patients, the positive rate was 77.35%, the positive rate in AML and ALL respectively were 80.6% and 72.0%. There was no significant difference between the two group (P>0.05). The WT1 positive rate in 15 CML patients was 46.7%, the positive rate in 6 patients at blast crisis and 1 patient at accelerated phase were 100%, 0 in 8 patients at chronic phase. WT1 gene became negative in 22 of 27 (81.5%) AL patients achieving complete remission, but it became positive again in 4 relapsed patients. WT1 genewas undetectable in 21 healthy subjects. The sensitivity of RT-PCR was 10-4. Conclusion: 1. WT1 gene is expressed in various type of leukemia patients and is not expressed in healthy subjects .WT1 gene's expression was related to the course of disease. 2. WT1 gene can be used as a marker for monitoring minimal residual disease in leukemia.The expression of WT1 gene can predict the treatment outcome and the prognosis for leukemia patients.