The level of MEF but not ELF-1 correlates with FAB subtype of acute myeloid leukemia and is low in good prognosis cases

Abstract 

ETS proteins (such as PU.1, Fli-1 and ETS-1) have been shown to play important roles in normal and abnormal hematopoiesis. We examined the expression of the ELF subfamily of ETS genes (ELF-1, MEF and NERF) in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) cells using Northern blot analysis. ELF-1 and MEF were expressed in all samples, whereas NERF was not. The relative expression (RE) of MEF, but not ELF-1, was significantly lower (P<0.0001) in AML with t(8;21) and t(15;17) compared with AML with normal karyotype. The pattern of MEF expression was not uniform among cells with CD34(+)/CD33(+). It is suggested that the low RE of MEF might be part of a gene expression profile characterizing AML with a good prognosis.

Abbreviations: AML, acute myeloid leukemia, RE, relative expression, DLCL, diffuse large cell lymphoma, CR, complete remission, OS, overall survival, IMDM, Iscove’s modified Dulbeccos’ medium, FBS, fetal bovine serum, MPO, myeloperoxidase, ALL, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, MEF, myeloid ELF-1-like factor, ELF-1, E74-like factor-1, NERF, new ETS related factor, GM-CSF, granulocyte-macrophage colony stimulating factor, IL-3, interleukin-3, FAB classification, French–American–British classification

Keywords: ETS genes, Gene expression, AML, Transcription factor, MEF