Ecotropic virus integration site-1 gene preferentially expressed in post-myelodysplasia acute myeloid leukemia: Possible association with GATA-1, GATA-2, and stem cell leukemia gene expression

Abstract

We investigated expression of the human ecotropic virus integration site-1 (EVl1) gene in patients with leukemia and myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS) using the reverse transcriptase-polvmerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) method. The EVl1 transcripts were detected in 5 (10.0%) of 50 patients with de novo acute myeloid leukemia (AML), including two AML patients with trilineage myelodysplasia, and in 8 (34.8%) of 23 patients with post-myelodysplastic syndrome AML (post-MDS AML). EVl1 expression was also detected in 6 (35.3%) of 17 MDS patients and three of six patients with chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) in myelomegakaryoblast crisis. No EVl1 transcripts were detected in patients with acute lymphoid leukemia (n = 15) or CML in lymphoid blast crisis (n = 4). Chromosomal abnormalities at the 3q26 region, where the EVl1 gene is located, were found in one patient with MDS and two patients with CML myelomegakaryoblast crisis who had EVl1 expression. Our results showed that EVl1 expression was frequent in patients with post-MDS AML and AML with trilineage myelodysplasia, regardless of the presence or absence of 3q26 abnormalities. EVl1 expression was accompanied by expression of GATA-1 and GATA-2, and often by stem cell leukemia (SCL) gene expression. In patients with post-MDS AML, EVl1 expression was not always associated with a 3q26 abnormality, whereas EVl1 expression in CML myelomegakaryoblast crisis was often linked to a 3q26 abnormality. Our results suggest that the leukemogenic role of EVl1 expression may differ between post-MDS AML and leukemia, with EVl1 expression associated with a 3q26 abnormality. © 1995 by The American Society of Hematology.