Down regulation of GTPase regulator associated with the focal adhesion kinase (GRAF) gene expression in patients with acute myeloblastic leukemia

Introduction: GTPase regulator associated with focal adhesion kinase (GRAF) is a recently identified GTPase activating protein that has the tumor suppressor properties. However, the expression level of GRAF in leukemia had received less attention. The main purpose of this research was the evaluating of the expression level of GRAF in patients with acute myeloid leukemia (AML). Materials and methods: Ninety people participated in the research (45 patients with AML and 45 healthy persons). RNA was extracted from their blood samples and cDNA synthesized. The expression levels of GRAF mRNA were determined by QRT-PCR method. Results: The expression levels of GRAF mRNA were significantly lower in AML samples than the control groups. WBC count was high in down-regulated samples than up-regulated ones (P< 0.05). There was any significant difference between two groups in other laboratories parameters. Conclusion: In spite of rare studies on GRAF gene expression level in patients with AML, was shown that it's down-regulated in people with AML.