Relation between IRF-1 gene and acute myelocytic leukemia in Kashmiri population.

The IRF-1 protein, a mammalian transcriptional factor encoded by a gene located in 5q23-q31, has antioncogenic properties. Involved in regulation of differentiation and proliferation, IRF-1 acts as a tumor suppressor gene and is inactivated by deletion of its one or more exons (exon skipping) in many hematological malignancies, including acute myelocytic leukemia (AML) and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS). DNA samples, extracted from peripheral blood, taken from 50 Kashmiri AML subjects, were analysed using the polymerase chain reaction and compared with examples of age and gender matched healthy controls from the same population.