Hypoxia-Inducible Factor1-Α (HIF1α) and Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor-A (VEGF-A) Expression in De Novo AML Patients

Abstract

Background: Bone marrow hypoxia can promote leukemia progression in human cases of acute myeloid leukemia<br />(AML). In addition, low oxygen tension is able to regulate the expression of different genes involved in malignancy.<br />In this study, we hypoxia-inducible factor-1α (HIF-1α) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF-A) genes were<br />assessed as principal regulators of hypoxia in do novo AML patients. Methods: Peripheral blood and bone marrow<br />samples were collected from 57 AML patients and 17 normal control subjects with informed consent. Expression of<br />HIF1α and VEGF-A was then evaluated using quantitative real-time PCR (Q-Real time PCR) and data were analyzed<br />with SPSS 16. Result: HIF1α and VEGF-A showed overexpression in AML patients compared to normal controls (P<br />AML-non M3 cases. Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between HIF1α and VEGF-A ( P 0.497). Conclusion: Adding to the many studies on the role of hypoxia in solid tumors, our data indicate that HIF1a<br />and VEGF-A overexpression also occurs in AML patients. We consider that this is possibly involved in leukemic cell<br />growth and therefore could be a promising target for clinical control.