Transcriptomic and in silico analysis of BLACE (B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia expressed), a new non-coding RNA, as a diagnostic biomarker in B-cell ALL.

ALL (acute lymphoblastic leukemia) is a type of hematological malignancy that involves developmental and differentiation arrest at the lymphoblast stage. BLACE, a gene specifically expressed in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia shows little or no expression in mature B-lymphocytes. The current pilot study involves transcriptional analysis of BLACE in B-cell ALL patients. Expression of BLACE was high in both pediatric and adult ALL patients. Promoter analysis of the BLACE gene showed the presence of CAAT and TATA box promoters and G-rich sequences with a potential to form G-quadruplexes. Due to identification of TAL1 transcription factor binding sites within the BLACE promoter region, expression of TAL1 gene was measured and found to correlate with the BLACE expression. The presence of an overlapping G-rich sequence and TAL1 binding site at -1291 bps within BLACE promoter indicated a new target site for controlling BLACE expression. The docking studies performed between BLACE-TAL1 protein showed a binding score of -208.68 kcal/mol and identified 21 BLACE nucleotide - TAL1 residues interacting at the docking interface. Together, our findings suggested that BLACE gene specifically expressed in B-cell ALL could serve as a new therapeutic target. Further investigations are required to get a comprehensive understanding of the BLACE gene mechanism.