MDR1 gene polymorphisms affect therapy outcome in acute myeloid leukemia patients.
Allelic variants of the MDR-1 gene have been shown recently to influence protein expression and P-glycoprotein (P-gp) function in healthy volunteers. Therefore, 405 acute myeloid leukemia patients were investigated for somatic genotypes of the three most frequent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in exons 12, 21, and 26. In all three loci, homozygous wild-type alleles were classified as genotype A, heterozygous as B, and homozygous mutant (alternative) allele as C. Patients with the C genotype in exons 12 and 26 showed a lower median age (both P < 0.05). Additionally, the C genotype in exons 12 and 26 was associated with cytogenetic poor risk aberrations (both P < 0.05). A possible regulatory impact of the SNPs on MDR1 mRNA expression was investigated by a Real time-PCR assay. MDR1 expression was strongly correlated with a decreased complete remission rate (P = 0.01) but failed to predict decreased overall survival (OS). There was a significant association of the A genotype in exons 21 (P = 0.05) and 26 (P < 0.05) with lower MDR1 expression, whereas the B variants showed highest MDR1 values at all three investigated gene loci. The A genotype in exon 26 was associated with lower OS (P < 0,01). In these patients, worse OS is likely attributable to an increased risk of relapse (P < 0.001). We were able to detect a linkage disequilibrium of the investigated SNPs, indicating combined polymorphisms that could affect the regulation of MDR1 expression. The A genotype of all SNPs demonstrated both lowest MDR1 values and significantly decreased OS (P < 0.05) with a high probability of relapses (P < 0.01). These observations indicate that allelic variants of the MDR1 gene may influence therapy outcome by additional mechanisms, different from P-gp expression on acute myeloid leukemia blasts, possibly involving pharmacokinetic effects of P-gp.
Medical Clinic and Polyclinic I, University Hospital of the Technical University, 01307 Dresden, Germany. illmer@mk1.med.tu-dresden.de
Thomas
T
Illmer
Ulrich S
US
Schuler
Christian
C
Thiede
Ute I
UI
Schwarz
Richard B
RB
Kim
Sebastian
S
Gotthard
Daniel
D
Freund
Ulrike
U
Schäkel
Gerhard
G
Ehninger
Markus
M
Schaich
D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1 / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000483:Alleles; D018076:DNA, Complementary / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D005091:Exons; D019450:Genes, MDR / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006801:Humans; D007951:Leukemia, Myeloid / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy; D016015:Logistic Models; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D018807:Polymorphism, Single-Stranded Conformational; D012333:RNA, Messenger / Q000096:biosynthesis / Q000235:genetics; D015996:Survival Rate
D020168:ATP Binding Cassette Transporter, Subfamily B, Member 1; D018076:DNA, Complementary; D012333:RNA, Messenger