Adaptive immunity-related gene expression profile is correlated with clinical phenotype in patients with acute myeloid leukemia

Abstract

BACKGROUND Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a common and lethal hematopoietic malignancy that is highly dependent on the immune microenvironment. However, light has yet to be shed on the landscape of adaptive immunity-related genes. This work aimed to uncover the novel molecular events in AML and potential therapeutic strategies for AML treatment. METHODS For the current research, the transcriptional information of 732 genes that participate in adaptive immunity was collected from 173 patients with AML, and the patients were grouped into different cohorts based on the different expression patterns. The correlations between gene expression and clinical characteristics, including prognosis, were studied. RESULTS According to the notably different expressions of adaptive immunity-related genes, the 173 patients were divided into 2 clusters and 3 subclusters. No significant differences in overall survival (OS) or progression-free survival (PFS) were detected between the clusters or subclusters. There were obvious discrepancies found in age, peripheral blood (PB) blast percentage, and French-American-British (FAB) classification between each cluster or subcluster. The patients in cluster 1 were older and more of them had M5 type; the patients in cluster 2 were younger and more of them had M2 type. Further, 81 genes were significantly correlated with age and 101 genes were significantly correlated with PB blast percentage. Comparison of the prognosis between each FAB type revealed that patients with M3 type displayed the most favorable OS and PFS. Among the differentially expressed genes (DEGs), CLEC2B expression was much lower in M2 patients than in patients with other types (P<0.001), and its high expression indicated a worse outcome (12.4 vs. 46.5 months of OS). CONCLUSIONS This study has uncovered the expression profile of adaptive immunity-related genes in AML. The different gene expression patterns are not associated with survival, but are significantly correlated the FAB types. CLEC2B expression is low in patients with M2 type and is negatively correlated with prognosis, thus revealing a potential therapeutic target for AML.