Expression of Livin gene in acute leukemia and chronic myelocytic leukemia

Objective: To investigate the expression of Livin in leukemia and the prognostic significance in acute leukemia（AL） in adults. Methods: The expression of Livin mRNA was measured in 91 AL and 17 chronic myelocytic leukemia（CML） patients by semi-quantity reverse transcription polymers chain reaction（RT-PCR）.21 healthy adults were also measured as normal control. Results: The expression of Livin in de novo AL was higher than that in normal control,while it decreased in patients with complete remission.In relapsed patients,the expression of Livin increased again.The level of Livin mRNA in CML was significantly higher than that in normal controls.In AL patients,the CR rate in Livin+ cases was lower than that in Livin cases.Conclusions: Overexpression of Livin may play a synergic role in the pathogenesis of leukemia and may be a high risk factor for relapse in AL.High expression of Livin can serve as one of the markers of poor prognosis in AL.