ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Year : 2011  |  Volume : 2  |  Issue : 3  |  Page : 248-253

Expression and prognostic value of the drug resistance proteins Pgp-170, MRP2, MMR3, and MRP5 in leukemia

Sufian M ElAssouli
Biology Department, College of Science and King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University P.O. Box 80216, Jeddah 21589, Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Correspondence Address:
Ph.D. Sufian M ElAssouli
Biology Department, College of Science and King Fahd Medical Research Center, King Abdulaziz University P.O. Box 80216, Jeddah 21589
Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None

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Multidrug resistance mediated by the transporter proteins P-glycoprotein (Pgp-170) and multidrug resistance associated proteins (MRP1-9) is one of the mechanisms that contribute to the failure of chemotherapy in patients with different malignancies. The objective of the present study was to investigate the expression of the drug resistance proteins Pgp-170, MRP2, MRP3 and MRP5 (DRPs) in leukemic patients and to assess their possible association with the clinical features. These proteins were determined using immunocytochemistry and flow cytometry in 88 blood samples from 51 patients. Immunocytochemically, the overall expression of Pgp-170, MRP2, MRP3, and MRP5 in the untreated, remission, and relapsed samples was 8.7%, 13.2%, and 48.2%, respectively. In acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), DRPs were detected in 0/4 untreated 1/17 remission, and 7/12 relapsed samples. In acute myelocytic leukemia (AML), DRPs were detected in 2/9 untreated 2/8 remission, and 4/12 untreated relapsed samples. In chronic myelocytic leukemia (CML), DRPs were not detected in the untreated (n=5) or remission (n=1) samples. In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), DRPs were not detected in the untreated samples (n=3), but they were detected in 1/2 remission and 2/3 of relapsed samples. In multiple myelomas (MM), the 2 untreated samples were negative for DRPs, while 1/10 remission samples was positive. Analysis of 58 blood-samples using flow-cytometry, detected DRPs in 4%, 15%, and 9% of the untreated (n=19), remission (n=18), and relapsed (n=21) samples, respectively. The chi-square test showed that there were no significant associations between immunocytostaining and flow-cytometry or between DRP expression and patients age or sex.

Keywords: leukemia; P-glycoprotein; MRPs; immunostaining; flow cytometry