Affiliations: [a] Biochemistry Department, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ain Shams University (ASU), Abassia, Cairo, Egypt | [b] Biochemistry Department, School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Industries, Badr University in Cairo (BUC), Badr City, Cairo, Egypt | [c] Hematology Department, Faculty of Medicine, Ain Shams University (ASU), Cairo, Egypt | [d] Biochemistry Department, Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy, Sinai University (SU), Sinai, Egypt
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Hala Osman EL-Mesallamy, Professor of Biochemistry, Ain Shams University, Dean of Faculty of Pharmacy, Sinai University, Sinai, 71526, Egypt. Tel.: +20 2245051107/+20 1061669913; Fax: +20 2245051107; E-mail: hala_elmosalamy@hotmail.com.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: Bone morphogenetic protein and activin membrane-bound inhibitor (BAMBI) and mothers against decapentaplegic homolog 7 (SMAD7) are important transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) signaling antagonists, however their roles in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) remains unclear. Telomerase reverse transcriptase (TERT) may be involved in regulating BAMBI and SMAD7 expressions; a role beyond telomeres that is not clinically validated yet. OBJECTIVE: In this study, we examined the expression levels and prognostic values of BAMBI, SMAD7 and TERT and their association with AML patients’ outcomes. METHODS: Blood samples were collected from 74 de-novo AML patients and 16 controls. Real-time quantitative PCR (qRT-PCR) was performed to analyze BAMBI, SMAD7 and TERT expressions. RESULTS: BAMBI and SMAD7 expression in AML were significantly upregulated versus controls (p< 0.05). BAMBI, SMAD7 and TERT levels were significantly correlated together (p< 0.001). Kaplan-Meier analysis indicated that patients with high BAMBI, SMAD7 and TERT expression levels had markedly shorter event free survival (EFS) and overall survival (OS) time (p< 0.01). Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed that only high BAMBI expression was an independent risk factor for OS (p= 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: BAMBI is a novel biomarker in predicting prognosis in AML patients. Moreover, a potential interplay is found between BAMBI, SMAD7 and TERT in AML pathogenies.
