Altered expression of MALAT1 lncRNA in chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients, correlation with cytogenetic findings

Background Recent studies have devoted much attention to non-protein-coding transcripts in relation to a wide range of malignancies. MALAT1, a long non-coding RNA, has been reported to be associated with cancer progression and prognosis. Thus, we here determined MALAT1 gene expression in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), a genetically heterogeneous disease, and explored its possible relationships with cytogenetic abnormalities. Methods MALAT1 expression level was evaluated using real-time quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (qRT-PCR) on blood mononuclear cells from 30 non-treated CLL patients and 30 matched healthy controls. Cytogenetic abnormalities were determined in patients by fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Results MALAT1 expression level was up-regulated in the CLL group compared to healthy controls (P =0.008). Del13q14, followed by Del11q22, were the most prevalent cytogenetic abnormalities. We found no association between the FISH results and MALAT1 expression in patients. Conclusion Altered expression of MALAT1 is associated with CLL development. Further investigations are required to assess the relationship between this long non-coding RNA and CLL patient survival and prognosis.