Abstract: Objective To investigate the expressions of SALL4 mRNA and Nanog mRNA in peripheral blood and bone marrow in patients with myelodysplastic syndrome(MDS) and their clinical significance. Methods The reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect the expressions of SALL4 mRNA and Nanog mRNA in the peripheral blood and bone marrow of 75 patients with MDS and the peripheral blood of 30 healthy controls. The difference of the expressions between MDS subtypes was analyzed. Results The expression of SALL4 mRNA in peripheral blood and bone marrow of patients with MDS was significantly higher than that in healthy controls(χ²=22.92,P<0.01). The higher expression of SALL4 mRNA was found in bone marrow than peripheral blood(Z=5.60, P<0.01). The expression of Nanog mRNA was higher in patients with MDS than healthy controls(F=88.78, P<0.01), but there was no difference between peripheral blood and bone marrow(t=0.898, P=0.371). There were statistical significance of SALL4 and Nanog mRNA among MDS subtypes(P<0.01), especially RAEB-Ⅰ and RAEB-Ⅱ. In 7 patients who evolved into acute myeloblastic leukemia,the expressions of SALL4 mRNA(peripheral blood t=2.27, P<0.05; bone marrow t=2.85, P<0.05) and Nanog mRNA(peripheral blood t=5.20,P<0.01; bone marrow t=5.51, P<0.01) were significantly higher than the others. Conclusions SALL4 mRNA and Nanog mRNA are over-expressed in patients with MDS,and the expression correlates with the clinical outcomes.

Key words: SALL4 mRNA, Nanog mRNA, Myelodysplastic syndrome