Src, Akt, NF-κB, BCL-2 and c-IAP1 may be involved in an anti-apoptotic effect in patients with BCR-ABL positive and BCR-ABL negative acute lymphoblastic leukemia

BCR-ABL kinase has been observed to be potentially related to leukemic cell development. Adult patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) were evaluated to determine whether presence/absence of BCR-ABL induced differences in activation of Src, PI3K/Akt and NF-κB or in the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins such as BCL-2 and c-IAP1. BCR-ABL positive patients showed a significantly higher activation of Src and Akt compared with BCR-ABL negative patients and healthy donors. BCR-ABL negative patients also showed a significant activation of Src and low levels of Akt activation compared with healthy donors. Both patient groups had increased NF-κB activation and overexpression of BCL-2 and c-IAP1. This is the first study to evaluate concurrently in ALL patients presence/absence of BCR-ABL in relation to activation of Src, Akt and NF-κB and the expression of anti-apoptotic proteins. Results suggest that these proteins may be involved in an anti-apoptotic signaling pathway.