Circulating microRNAs expression profile in newly diagnosed and imatinib treated chronic phase–chronic myeloid leukemia

Chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) is a stem cell derived malignant disorder result of translocation t(9;22)(q34;q11) called Philadelphia chromosome (Ph + ). microRNAS (miRNAs) are involved in several biological processes, altering the progression of various pathologies, including CML. This study evaluated whether circulating miRNAs display differential expression profiles in peripheral blood of CML-Chronic Phase (CML-CP) patients newly diagnosed in comparison with CML-CP treated with imatinib. We obtained peripheral blood samples from CML-CP Ph + patients divided among group 1 (untreated newly diagnosed) and group 2 (treated with imatinib). A pool of total leukocytes from healthy donors was considered as control group. Expression analyses were performed for 768 miRNAs by RT-qPCR array. Bioinformatic tools were used to identify significant pathways and interaction networks. We found 80 deregulated miRNAs between the groups and, according to bioinformatic analysis, they are involved in different pathways, including molecular mechanisms of cancer. The study allows better understanding of disease molecular behavior, and it is useful for possible monitoring CML treatment and prognostic biomarkers identification.