An investigation of mRNA tropomyosin receptor kinase a (TRKA) expression in neuroblastoma

Abstract

Tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA) is an important biomarker in biological and clinical prognosis. The neurotrophic receptor TrkA and its nerve growth factor (NGF) are expressed at high levels in the non-amplified MYCN status and age in Neuroblastoma (NB) and are involved in defining the good prognosis of the patients. However, the TrkA levels have not yet examined in Neuroblastoma of Vietnamese patients. Hence, I performed this research to investigate the TrkA expression and evaluate the association of clinical presentations with its level. The samples were stratified as low-, intermediate- or high-risk and known the clinical features: gender, age, stages and MYCN amplification. The mRNA levels of TrkA were investigated by RT-PCR and quantified by ImageJ. As the result, TrkA mRNA expression is high in Neuroblastoma patient groups with non-MYCN amplification and less than 18 months as a favorable prognosis. Out of all clinicopathological factors examined, MYCN amplification and age were significantly correlated with TrkA, whereas TrkA expression was independent for gender, risks and stages. In light of these data, it is likely that the mRNA expressions of TrkA afford us an important approach into the high-risk NB clinicopathology and open the chance to test potential drug targets for this receptor. Keywords: Neuroblastoma; TrkA/NTRK1; RT-PCR; Prognosis