Detection of mutant NPM1 mRNA in acute myeloid leukemia using custom gene expression arrays

Genet Test Mol Biomarkers. 2013 Apr;17(4):295-300. doi: 10.1089/gtmb.2012.0344.

Abstract

Mutations in the gene encoding nucleophosmin (NPM1) carry a prognostic value for patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Various techniques are currently being used to detect these mutations in routine molecular diagnostics. Incorporation of accurate NPM1 mutation detection on a gene expression platform would enable simultaneous detection with various other expression biomarkers. Here we present an array-based mutation detection using custom probes for NPM1 WT mRNA and NPM1 type A, B, and D mutant mRNA. This method was 100% accurate on a training cohort of 505 newly diagnosed unselected AML cases. Validation on an independent cohort of 143 normal-karyotype AML cases revealed no false-negative results, and one false positive (sensitivity 100.0% and specificity 98.7%). Based on this, we conclude that this method provides a reliable method for NPM1 mutation detection. The method can be applied to other genes/mutations as long as the mutant alleles are sufficiently highly expressed.

Publication types

  • Evaluation Study
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Algorithms*
  • Alleles
  • DNA Probes
  • Female
  • Gene Expression
  • Humans
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / genetics*
  • Leukemia, Myeloid, Acute / metabolism
  • Male
  • Mutation*
  • Nuclear Proteins / genetics*
  • Nuclear Proteins / metabolism*
  • Nucleophosmin
  • Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / methods*
  • Prognosis
  • RNA, Messenger / genetics
  • RNA, Messenger / metabolism
  • Sensitivity and Specificity

Substances

  • DNA Probes
  • NPM1 protein, human
  • Nuclear Proteins
  • RNA, Messenger
  • Nucleophosmin