7172

TPMT

-;thiopurine S-methyltransferase;TPMT;thiopurine S-methyltransferase

S-adenosyl-L-methionine:thiopurine S-methyltransferase

6p22.3

protein-coding

BACKGROUND: Polymorphisms that reduce the activity of thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) cause adverse reactions to conventional doses of thiopurines, routinely used for antileukemic and immunosuppressive treatment. There are more than 20 variant alleles of TPMT that cause decreased enzymatic activity. We studied the most common variant alleles of TPMT and their frequencydistribution in a large cohort of multiracial residents in the Russian Federation and compared their frequencies in children with and without malignancy to determine whether TPMT gene abnormality is associated with hematologic malignancy. PROCEDURE: The TPMT biochip was used to detect 6 TPMT single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) corresponding to 7 TPMT-deficiency alleles (TPMT*2, TPMT*3A, TPMT*3B, TPMT*3C, TPMT*3D, TPMT*7, and TPMT*8). We analyzed allele frequencies in the whole cohort, the childhood cancer group, and the non-cancer group. We also characterized disease features and outcome according to the presence of TPMT SNPs in children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL). RESULTS: Fifty-five (5.5%) study participants overall had heterozygous TPMT genotypes (1 variant and 1 wild-type allele): TPMT*1/*3A (n = 45; 4.5%), TPMT*1/*3C (n = 8; 0.8%), and TPMT*1/*2 (n = 2; 0.2%). TPMT SNPs were more frequent in children with hematologic malignancy than in other participants (7.5% vs. 4.0%, P = 0.02). We found no significant association between TPMT SNPs and ALL treatment outcome (median follow-up, 31.3 months). CONCLUSIONS: TPMT*3A is the most prevalent variant allele in the Russian Federation. The estimated frequency of variant alleles in the study cohort (5.5%) was similar to that observed in the White populations in the U.S. and Eastern Europe.#CI- (c) 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

BACKGROUND: Thiopurine S-Methyltransferase (TPMT) catalyses the S-methylation ofthiopurine drugs, such as 6-mercaptopurine, 6-thioguanine and azathioprine, leading to their inactivation. Individuals who carry TPMT allele variants are more likely to experience life-threatening toxicity when these drugs are given at a standard dose. Wildtype phenotype TPMT*1 exhibits high level of catalytic activity, while ALL variants manifest with a decreased enzymatic activity. Ethnic-related differences in the distribution of TPMT variant alleles have beenfound. In Mexico, limited information is available; so far only two studies havebeen published and clear differences exist between them. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Allelic variants and genotypes of the TPMT gene were determined in 240 Mexican children with leukemia and solid tumors using DNA extracted from peripheral blood. Polymorphisms G460A and A719G were identified by PCR-RFLP and G238C by the specific-allele PCR assay. The enzyme variants were detected by allelic discrimination. RESULTS: Homozygous wild-type genotype TPMT*1/TPMT*1 was found in 173 patients (72.1%); 67 cases (27.9%) were heterozygous: 18 with genotype TPMT*1/TPMT*3B (7.5%), 17 TPMT*1/TPMT*3C (7.1%), 16 TPMT*1/TMPT*2 (6.7%), 14 TPMT*1/TPMT*3A (5.8%), and 2 (0.8%) were homozygous for two variants: TPMT*2/ TPMT*3B in both. The allele frequencies were TPMT*1 in 411 (85.62%), TPMT*3B in 20 (4.1%), TPMT*2 in 18 (3.75%), TPMT*3C in 17 (3.55%) and TPMT*3A in 14 (2.9%).CONCLUSIONS: A high frequency and diversity of variant TPMT genotypes was found in this series with predominance of the TPMT*3B allele.