Differential Expression of AURKA, AURKB, and PLK1 Modulates Clinical Outcomes and Survival in Acute Myeloid Leukemia
Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is one of the most aggressive types of leukemia, represented by the clonal proliferation of hematopoietic precursors, which mainly promotes quantitative and differentiation alterations, as well as normal hematopoiesis suppression. Throughout leukemogenesis, modifications may occur in several elements that make up cellular signaling pathways; among these, AURKA, AURKB, and PLK1 are key related regulators of mitotic progression and cellular proliferation. This study investigated the hematological profile and the expression of the AURKA, AURKB, and PLK1 genes in a cohort of individuals with AML, in order to understand their roles in the pathophysiology of the disease. The analyses revealed a significant hypoexpression of AURKA in the bone marrow of AML individuals compared to the control group (p = 0.0254) and AURKB showed no significant difference in bone marrow and peripheral blood samples. It was also observed a hyperexpression of PLK1 in bone marrow (p < 0.0001) and in peripheral blood (p = 0.0144). Our results also point to PLK1 as a potential biomarker for AML, since its hyperexpression did not differ with respect to gender, risk stratification, or age of the individuals. Finally, survival analyses indicate that AURKA expression in the bone marrow is associated with a protective factor and increased survival, and that those with higher expression of the three target genes had a lower mortality rate (p = 0.043).
Authors
- Mateus de Paula Gomes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7783-0799)
- Maria Elisabete Amaral de Moraes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6826-8930)
- Igor Valentim Barreto (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5785-4539)
- Ana Virgínia Soares van den Berg (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7428-7030)
- Caroline Aquino Moreira-Nunes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5845-3481)
- Fabiana Aguiar Carneiro Silva
- Rodrigo Monteiro Ribeiro
- Lívia Andrade Gurgel (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9231-268X)
- Ricardo Parente Garcia Vieira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0004-3380-4491)
- André Salim Khayat
- Flávia Melo Cunha de Pinho Pessoa (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8432-4760)
- Kaira Mara Cordeiro de Albuquerque (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6544-5495)
- I.C. Farias
- Leidivan Sousa da Cunha (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0003-3385-1653)
- Caio Bezerra Machado (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8918-9812)
- Deivide de Sousa Oliveira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8630-3739)
- Manoel Odorico de Moraes (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3378-8722)
- Aurélie Moreira
- Gésio Eduardo Antas Rodrigues
- Beatriz Maria Dias Nogueira (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0009-0092-862X)
- Anna Karolyna da Costa Machado
Institutions
- Universidade Federal do Ceará (BR)
- Universidade de Fortaleza (BR)
- Hospital São Vicente de Paulo (BR)
- Instituto Federal de Educação, Ciência e Tecnologia do Pará (BR)
- Hospital Geral de Fortaleza (BR)
- Universidade Federal do Pará (BR)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Kinases and Phosphatases
- Published
- 2025-12-03
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.3390/kinasesphosphatases3040025
- Primary Topic
- Acute Myeloid Leukemia Research
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00