Circular RNA of vimentin expression as a valuable predictor for acute myeloid leukemia development and prognosis

Abstract

The focus of this study was to investigate the expression status of Circ-vimentin (VIM) and further analyze its pathogenesis and clinical significance in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) patients. Real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction was carried on Circ-VIM in 113 AML patients and 42 healthy controls. Circ-VIM was significantly upregulated in AML compared with control and was positively correlated with white blood cells (WBC) count. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis indicated that the performance of Circ-VIM expression could serve as a promising biomarker for differentiating AML patients from controls. Significant correlations of Circ-VIM expression were found with WBC and French-American-British classifications. Survival analyses further showed that over-expressed Circ-VIM were associated with markedly shorter overall survival (OS) and leukemia-free survival (LFS) in whole-cohort AML, nonacute promyelocytic leukemia AML and cytogenetically normal-AML patients. Multivariate analysis also disclosed that Circ-VIM over-expression was an independent poor prognostic factor for OS and LFS in AML patients. Remarkably, Pearson correlation analysis evidenced that the expression of Circ-VIM was positively correlated with VIM expression in all AML patients. These results indicated that overexpression Circ-VIM could serve as a significant biomarker.

Circular RNAs in the tumour microenvironment

“…For instance, For instance, Wang et al revealed that circRHOT1 inhibited hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) progression and functioned as a candidate biomarkers for HCC patients [34]. Yi et al reported that circ-Vimentin (VIM) participates in the regulation of lymphocyte adhesion and transcellular migration in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) [35]. Consistently, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis suggested that circ-VIM is an unfavourable prognostic factor for AML patients [35].…”

“…Yi et al reported that circ-Vimentin (VIM) participates in the regulation of lymphocyte adhesion and transcellular migration in acute myeloid leukemia (AML) [35]. Consistently, receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis suggested that circ-VIM is an unfavourable prognostic factor for AML patients [35]. Additionally, hsa_circ_ 0080145 amplification was identified in samples of chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) patients, and the regulatory axis of hsa_circ_0080145/miR-29b may potentially assist in diagnosis and treatments of CML [36].…”

Circular RNAs: Emerging Role in Cancer Diagnostics and Therapeutics

“…It sponges miR-20a-5p and knocking it down induces apoptosis in AML cells (Ping et al, 2019a). Circ-vimentin is upregulated in AML patients and its elevated expression is an independent poor prognostic factor for OS and leukemia-free survival (LFS) in AML patients (Yi and Lin, 2018). Hirsh et al examined the expression of circ_0075001 in a cohort of NPM1 wild-type and mutated AML patients and found it to be positively correlated with expression of the cognate linear RNA but independent of the NPM1 mutational status (Hirsch et al, 2017).…”

The functions and clinical significance of circRNAs in hematological malignancies

“…Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve analysis revealed that the expression of circ-VIM could distinguish AML patients from healthy groups. Highly expressed circ-VIM acted as an independent prognostic factor for OS and leukemia-free survival (LFS) in AML [106]. Interestingly, the expression level of the same circRNA differs in subtypes of the same disease, highlighting the specificity of circRNAs as biomarkers.…”