# Evaluation of HOTAIRM1, miR-196b, and HOXA9 as Oncogenic Markers in Patients with Acute Myeloblastic Leukemia

**Authors:** Fahime Norozi, Mehdi Allahbakhshian, Nader Vazifeshiran, Zahra Hasanpour, Mohsen Hamidpour

PMC · DOI: 10.30699/ijp.2025.2030358.3309 · Iranian Journal of Pathology · 2025-07-01

## TL;DR

This study examines gene expression levels in acute myeloblastic leukemia patients to identify potential biomarkers for disease progression and treatment.

## Contribution

The study identifies HOTAIRM1, HOXA9, and GFI1 as potential biomarkers for AML progression and therapeutic targeting.

## Key findings

- HOTAIRM1, miR-196b, HOXA9, and GFI1 expression levels were significantly higher in AML patients than in healthy controls.
- HOTAIRM1, HOXA9, and GFI1 expression differed significantly between AML-M3 and non-M3 subtypes.
- These markers may serve as clinical biomarkers for AML monitoring and early detection.

## Abstract

miR-196b, HOXA9, GFI1, and PIM1 are key factors involved in cellular signaling pathways that contribute to the pathogenesis of malignancies, including acute myeloblastic leukemia (AML). Given their critical roles in AML progression, the present study aimed to investigate the gene expression levels of HOTAIRM1, miR-196b, HOXA9, GFI1, and PIM1 in AML patients compared to healthy controls.

A total of 30 AML patients and 10 healthy volunteers were enrolled in this study. Peripheral blood and bone marrow mononuclear cells were isolated using Ficoll-Paque density gradient centrifugation. Gene expression levels of HOTAIRM1, miR-196b, HOXA9, GFI1, and PIM1 were assessed using real-time quantitative PCR (RQ-PCR). Statistical analyses were performed using Student’s t-test, one-way ANOVA, and Pearson correlation tests.

The expression levels of HOTAIRM1, miR-196b, HOXA9, and GFI1 were significantly elevated in AML patients compared to healthy controls. Furthermore, t-test analysis revealed that the expressions of HOTAIRM1, HOXA9, and GFI1 significantly differed between AML-M3 and non-M3 AML subtypes.

These findings suggest that the investigated markers, particularly HOTAIRM1, HOXA9, and GFI1, may serve as potential clinical biomarkers for monitoring AML progression and could be valuable targets for early detection or therapeutic intervention.

## Linked entities

- **Genes:** HOTAIRM1 (HOXA transcript antisense RNA, myeloid-specific 1) [NCBI Gene 100506311], HOXA9 (homeobox A9) [NCBI Gene 3205], GFI1 (growth factor independent 1 transcriptional repressor) [NCBI Gene 2672], PIM1 (Pim-1 proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase) [NCBI Gene 5292]
- **Diseases:** acute myeloblastic leukemia (MONDO:0018874), AML (MONDO:0018874)

## Full-text entities

- **Genes:** GFI1 (growth factor independent 1 transcriptional repressor) [NCBI Gene 2672] {aka GFI-1, GFI1A, SCN2, ZNF163}, MIR196B (microRNA 196b) [NCBI Gene 442920] {aka MIRN196B, miR-196b, miRNA196B}, HOXA9 (homeobox A9) [NCBI Gene 3205] {aka ABD-B, HOX1, HOX1.7, HOX1G}, PIM1 (Pim-1 proto-oncogene, serine/threonine kinase) [NCBI Gene 5292] {aka PIM}, HOTAIRM1 (HOXA transcript antisense RNA, myeloid-specific 1) [NCBI Gene 100506311] {aka HOXA-AS1, HOXA1-AS1, NCRNA00179}
- **Diseases:** malignancies (MESH:D009369), AML (MESH:D015470)
- **Species:** Homo sapiens (human, species) [taxon 9606]

## Full text

_Full body text omitted from this summary view._ Fetch the complete paper as Markdown: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12308185/full.md

## Figures

3 figures with captions in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12308185/full.md

## References

45 references — full list in the complete paper: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12308185/full.md

---
Source: https://tomesphere.com/paper/PMC12308185