title: Saliva as a sampling source for the detection of leukemic fusion transcripts.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Saliva has long been used as a sampling source for clinical diagnosis of oral disease such as oral squamous cell carcinoma, or therapeutic drug monitoring. The aims of this study was to ascertain if saliva RNA could be stored at room temperature and to study if saliva could be a convenient source for fusion transcripts in leukemic patients.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a cross-sectional diagnostic study. We first developed a Saliva RNA tube for stable storage of whole saliva RNA at room temperature. Then we detected the leukemic fusions in the whole saliva from seven leukemic patients and twenty healthy volunteers, and compared with the results obtained from the bone marrow of the patients.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Human gene transcripts could be reproducibly detected in the whole saliva for at least four weeks when stored in the developed composition at room temperature. Concordant results of the fusion transcripts were obtained between the saliva and the bone marrow in the seven leukemic patients and no fusions were detected in the healthy controls.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The results support our hypothesis that human whole saliva could be a reliable and convenient sampling source for the detection of leukemic fusions.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Engineering Research Centre of Molecular Diagnostics, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361102, China. dmchen@stu.xmu.edu.cn.|Shenzhen Research Institute of Xiamen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518057, China. dmchen@stu.xmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Dongmei
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Engineering Research Centre of Molecular Diagnostics, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361102, China. songnajie@xmu.edu.cn.|Shenzhen Research Institute of Xiamen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518057, China. songnajie@xmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Najie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Engineering Research Centre of Molecular Diagnostics, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361102, China. runfangni@gmail.com.|Shenzhen Research Institute of Xiamen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518057, China. runfangni@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Runfang
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ni
authors.affiliation: Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361004, China. zjn@xmzsh.com.
authors.forename: Jiangning
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhao
authors.affiliation: Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361004, China. hujiasheng@xmzsh.com.
authors.forename: Jiasheng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: Zhongshan Hospital of Xiamen, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361004, China. quanyilu@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Quanyi
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Lu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Cellular Stress Biology, State Key Laboratory of Molecular Vaccinology and Molecular Diagnostics, Engineering Research Centre of Molecular Diagnostics, Ministry of Education, School of Life Sciences, Xiamen University, Xiamen, Fujian, 361102, China. qgli@xmu.edu.cn.|Shenzhen Research Institute of Xiamen University, Shenzhen, Guangdong, 518057, China. qgli@xmu.edu.cn.
authors.forename: Qingge
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Li
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D050939:Gene Fusion; D006801:Humans; D007938:Leukemia / Q000235:genetics*; D012463:Saliva / Q000378:metabolism*