Some studies show that alterations in expression of proteins related to mitotic spindle (AURORAS KINASE A and B) and mitotic checkpoint (CDC20 and MAD2L1) are involved in chromosomal instability and tumor progression in various solid and hematologic malignancies. This study aimed to evaluate these genes in MDS patients. The cytogenetics analysis was carried out by G-banding, AURKA and AURKB amplification was performed using FISH, and AURKA, AURKB, CDC20 and MAD2L1 gene expression was performed by qRT-PCR in 61 samples of bone marrow from MDS patients. AURKA gene amplification was observed in 10% of the cases, which also showed higher expression levels than the control group (p=0.038). Patients with normo/hypercellular BM presented significantly higher expression levels than hypocellular BM patients, but normo and hypercellular BM groups did not differ. After logistic regression analysis, our results showed that HIGH expression levels were associated with increased risk of developing normo/hypercellular MDS. It also indicated that age is associated with AURKA, CDC20 and MAD2L1 HIGH expression levels. The distinct expression of hypocellular patients emphasizes the prognostic importance of cellularity to MDS. The amplification/high expression of AURKA suggests that the increased expression of this gene may be related to the pathogenesis of disease.
Keywords: AURKA; AURKB; CDC20; MAD2; Myelodysplastic syndromes.
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