AIM: To investigate homeodomain-interacting protein kinase 2(HIPK2) gene expression level and its clinical significance in acute leukemia(AL) patients.METHODS: HIPK2 mRNA was determined by semi-quantitative reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction(semi-quantitive RT-PCR) in patients with acute leukemia and healthy donors.The relative transcription level was compared between the study group and the control group.RESULTS: ① The relative expression level of HIPK2 mRNA in AL patients was 0.364?0.286,significantly lower than that in control(1.160?0.272,P0.05).CONCLUSION: AL has significantly lower HIPK2 mRNA expression as compared to normal control,which may be associated with leukemogenesis and/or disease progression of AL.

Objective　To determine the prevalence of human herpesvirus 8 (HHV-8) DNA in acute leukemia (AL) patients. Methods　The presence of HHV-8 DNA sequences in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMMC) from 50 AL patients was examined using polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Nine human hematopoietic cell lines and PBMC from 30 normal donors were also included. Results　HHV-8 DNA sequences were detected in one case of acute myelogenous leukemia (AML). The specimens from the bone marrow aspirate, peripheral blood and serum of this patient were all positive. None of the normal donors and human hematopoietic cell lines showed evidence of HHV-8 DNA. Conclusion　The results suggest that the prevalence of HHV-8 is low in AL in China.