The Institute of Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology for Postgraduate Studies at the University of Baghdad held a master’s thesis defense for Zainab Talib Fahl, titled:
“The Impact of MEG3 Long Non-Coding RNA Genetic Variation and Expression and Its Relationship with Serum Levels of Certain Inflammatory Cytokines in the Risk of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia in a Sample of Pediatric Patients.”
The study was supervised by Prof. Dr. Bushra Jasim Mohammed.
The research aimed to investigate the genetic polymorphisms and gene expression of MEG3, a maternally expressed long non-coding RNA, and its relationship with serum levels of inflammatory cytokines in Iraqi children diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
The hematological analysis revealed that: 94% of the patients suffered from anemia, making it the most prevalent hematological manifestation of the disease and 82% of the patients had thrombocytopenia, with a statistically significant difference (P≤0.01).
The study suggested that MEG3 genetic polymorphisms, gene expression levels, and serum concentrations of TNF-α and IL-1β could serve as potential new immunological and genetic biomarkers for diagnosing pediatric acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL).
