MicroRNA as a Prognostic and Diagnostic Marker in T-Cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia

• Published in: International journal of molecular sciences Vol. 22; no. 10; p. 5317
• Main Authors: Gębarowska, Katarzyna, Mroczek, Anna, Kowalczyk, Jerzy R., Lejman, Monika
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 18.05.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Antigens; Apoptosis; Biomarkers, Tumor - classification; Biomarkers, Tumor - genetics; Biomarkers, Tumor - metabolism; Cancer; Child; DNA methylation; Drug Resistance, Neoplasm - genetics; Gene expression; Gene Expression Profiling; Humans; Kinases; Leukemia; Lymphocytes; Medical prognosis; MicroRNAs; MicroRNAs - classification; MicroRNAs - genetics; MicroRNAs - metabolism; Pathogenesis; Pediatrics; Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - diagnosis; Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - drug therapy; Precursor T-Cell Lymphoblastic Leukemia-Lymphoma - genetics; Prognosis; Review; Treatment Failure; microRNA; T-ALL markers; predictive marker; diagnostic marker; T-ALL
• ISSN: 1422-0067; 1661-6596; 1422-0067
• DOI: 10.3390/ijms22105317

T cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) is a biologically and genetically heterogeneous disease with a poor prognosis overall and several subtypes. The neoplastic transformation takes place through the accumulation of numerous genetic and epigenetic abnormalities. There are only a few prognostic factors in comparison to B cell precursor acute lymphoblastic leukemia, which is characterized by a lower variability and more homogeneous course. The microarray and next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies exploring the coding and non-coding part of the genome allow us to reveal the complexity of the genomic and transcriptomic background of T-ALL. miRNAs are a class of non-coding RNAs that are involved in the regulation of cellular functions: cell proliferations, apoptosis, migrations, and many other processes. No miRNA has become a significant prognostic and diagnostic factor in T-ALL to date; therefore, this topic of investigation is extremely important, and T-ALL is the subject of intensive research among scientists. The altered expression of many genes in T-ALL might also be caused by wide miRNA dysregulation. The following review focuses on summarizing and characterizing the microRNAs of pediatric patients with T-ALL diagnosis and their potential future use as predictive factors.