High expression of PRPS1 induces an anti-apoptotic effect in B-ALL cell lines and predicts an adverse prognosis in Chinese children with B-ALL

Phosphoribosyl pyrophosphate synthetase 1 (PRPS1) is closely associated with a number of diseases; however, its influence in B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (B-ALL) and the potential molecular mechanisms involved remain unclear. The present study aimed to evaluate the expression of PRPS1 in Chinese children with B-ALL and to investigate the mechanism of action of PRPS1 in this disease. A Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay was performed to examine the proliferation of B-ALL Sup-B15 and Raji cells, and flow cytometric analysis was conducted to determine the cell cycle distribution and rate of apoptosis. The mRNA and protein expression levels of PRPS1, MYC proto-oncogene, bHLH transcription factor, cyclin E1, B-cell lymphoma-2 (Bcl-2), cyclin dependent kinase 2 and caspase-3 were detected by reverse transcription-quantitative polymerase chain reaction and western blot analysis, respectively. Elevated PRPS1 expression was associated with a high-risk stratification and poor prognosis in patients with B-ALL. Furthermore, overexpression of PRPS1 accelerated the growth of and inhibited apoptosis in Sup-B15 and Raji cells as well as increasing the expression of Bcl-2 to induce an anti-apoptotic effect in B-ALL cell lines. The results of the present study indicate that PRPS1 regulates multiple processes in B-ALL and may be an attractive therapeutic target.