[Significance of Id4 gene methylation in monitoring efficacy of allo-PBSCT for treatment of acute leukemias].

This study was purposed to investigate the significance of Id4 gene methylation in monitoring the efficacy of allo-PBSCT for treatment of acute leukemias. MS-PCR method was used to detect Id4 gene methylation in bone marrow samples from 29 patients with acute leukemia before and at 1, 3, 6 and 12 months after allo-PBSCT. The results showed that the Id4 gene was methylated in 18 patients before allo-PBSCT, out of which Id4 gene methylation in 8 patients could be detected sustainedly after allo-PBSCT, whereas among remaining 11 patients with Id4 gene unmethylation before PBSCT, the Id4 gene of only one case was found to be methylated after PBSCT. Out of 9 patients with Id4 gene methylation after allo-PBSCT, 4 had relapse during the follow-up. 20 patients with Id4 gene unmethylation after allo-PBSCT were in continuously complete remission status. Id4 gene methylation was found more frequently between 6 months and 1 year after allo-PBSCT. It is concluded that detecting Id4 gene methylation is important for the AL patients who underwent allo-PBSCT. Choosing the patients with Id4 gene unmethylaiton to receive allo-PBSCT may help to reduce relapse rate. After allo-PBSCT, Id4 gene methylation status can be regarded as an indicator for predicting prognosis of acute leukemias.