Screening of V617F mutation in JAK2 gene with acute myeloid leukemia in the Saudi population

Abstract

Progress in pathogenesis and therapy of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is presently accelerating. The Janus kinase 2 gene (JAK2) mutations are rare in de novo AML. The gene codes for the tyrosine kinase that has a significant role in the signal transduction in hematopoietic cells. The aim of this study was to induce V617F mutation in the JAK2 gene in the AML patients diagnosed in the Saudi population. In this case-control study, 100 AML patients and 100 healthy controls were recruited. Genotyping was performed with polymerase chain reaction followed with restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The mean age of the AML patients and healthy controls was found to be almost similar (p=0.60). In this study, 15% of VF mutation was documented in the AML cases and none of the mutations were documented either in FF mutation in AML cases or VF and FF mutations in the healthy control subjects. VF mutations [VF vs VV; OR-18.79; (95%CIs: 2.442–144.6) and p=0.0001; F vs V; OR-87.76; (95% CIs: 11.76–654.7) and p<0.0001] were found to be significantly associated when compared between AML cases and healthy controls. In conclusion, the V617F mutation showed the positive association in the AML patients diagnosed in the Saudi population.