Expression of autophagy genes in acute myeloid leukemia: associations with clinical characteristics and prognosis

The relationships between autophagy-associated gene expression, clinical characteristics and prognosis in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) have not been elucidated. Herein, we collected AML patient clinical information, treatment responses and outcomes and assessed the mRNA expression of Bcl-2, p62, Beclin 1, VPS34, Rubicon, ALFY, UVRAG, ULK1, LC3 and NBR1 in 20 AML patients and 10 benign hematological cases by real-time PCR. We determined that Beclin 1, LC3, UVRAG, Rubicon and NBR1 are down-regulated in AML patients compared to the control group (p<0.05) and that low ULK1 expression was associated with high white blood cell counts (p<0.05). Autophagy-associated gene expression did not correlate with chemotherapy response. Although analysis of patient overall survival established no obvious association with gene expression, low Beclin 1 and p62 expression in unfavorable outcome patients was associated with worse overall survival than high-expression. The combined results confirm that autophagy genes are associated with outcome in AML patients and that they are potential biomarkers and targets in acute myeloid leukemia.