Expression and Clinical Significance of PCNA, p53 and Bcl-2 Protein in Bone Marrow Cells in Children with Acute Leukemia / 中国医师杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the relationship between the expressions of proliferating cell nuclear antigen (PCNA), p53 and Bcl-2 protein and clinical chemothreapy, prognosis in bone marrow cells in children with acute leukemia (AL). Methods Immunohistochemical SP method was used to detect the expressions of PCNA, p53 and Bcl-2 in specimens of bone marrow puncture of 59 children with AL and 15 healthy children as control. Results There was a significant difference in the expressions of PCNA, p53 and Bcl-2 proteins between the initially treated patients and healthy subjects, and between the remission patients and non remission ones. There was not a significnat difference in PCNA expression between the refractory patients and healthy subjects, and PCNA expression was related to the chemotherapeutic sensitivity. There was a significant difference in the 6-week remission rate between the patients with and without PCNA expression, but there was no significant difference in the over 3 years survival rate without illness. The expression levels of Bcl-2 and p53 were significantly higher in the refractory patients than those in healthy subjects. The patients with the high expression of p53 and Bcl-2 were resistant to chemotherapy, low in the remission rate and poor in prognosis. Conclusion The AL patients with PCNA expression were higher in remission rate, and PCNA expression was not associated with long-term prognosis. The AL patients with the expression of p53 and Bcl-2 were lower in remission rate, and their expression was associated with long-term prognosis. Both p53 and Bcl-2 protein may serve as a molecular marker to predict chemotherapeutic sensitivity and prognosis. PCNA, p53 and Bcl-2 may be involved in the pathogenesis of child AL by various ways. It is more valuable for predicting prognosis to simultaneously detect the expression of PCNA, p53 and Bcl-2 proteins.