ITGA4 gene methylation status in chronic lymphocytic leukemia

Background: We aimed to investigate ITGA4 gene expression pattern and to explore its methylation heterogeneity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL). Patients & methods: Eighty one CLL patients and 75 healthy subjects were enrolled and prognostic evaluation of patients was assessed. ITGA4 q-realtime PCR was performed using Applied Biosystems, TaqMan gene expression assay. ITGA4 gene-specific CpG methylation was investigated in real time using pyrosequencing technology. Results: ITGA4 was differentially expressed in CLL patients. The CpG sites-1, 2 and 3 showed significantly higher mean levels than healthy controls (p =