ITGA4 gene methylation status in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Background: We aimed to investigate ITGA4 gene expression pattern and to explore its methylation heterogeneity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Patients & methods: Eighty one CLL patients and 75 healthy subjects were enrolled and prognostic evaluation of patients was assessed. ITGA4 q-realtime PCR was performed using Applied Biosystems, TaqMan gene expression assay. ITGA4 gene-specific CpG methylation was investigated in real time using pyrosequencing technology. Results:ITGA4 was differentially expressed in CLL patients. The CpG sites-1, 2 and 3 showed significantly higher mean levels than healthy controls (p = <0.001, 0.007 and 0.009). Significant association between CpG site-1 and CLL has been detected using age-adjusted logistic regression (p < 0.001). Conclusion: Hypermethylation at ITGA4 gene CpG sites (1,2,3) is a characteristic feature in CLL. Lay abstract: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a clonal lymphoproliferative disorder that is characterized by heterogeneous presentation. The ITGA4 gene (CD49d) encodes a member of the integrin alpha chain family of proteins. With this study we aimed to investigate the ITGA4 gene expression by q-realtime PCR and to explore its methylation heterogeneity using pyrosequencing technology in CLL. We found that the ITGA4 gene was differentially expressed in CLL patients. A significant association between CpG site-1 and CLL has been detected using age-adjusted logistic regression analysis. Hypermethylation at ITGA4 gene CpG sites (1,2,3) is a characteristic feature in CLL when compared with healthy controls.