Extreme differences in SLCO1B3 functional polymorphisms in Roma and Hungarian populations

Polymorphisms in solute carrier genes (SLC19A1, SLCO1B1, and SLCO1B3) predicts survival and toxicity in North Indian lung cancer patients undergoing platinum-based doublet chemotherapy

WHAT IS KNOWN AND OBJECTIVE

Solute Carrier (SLC) transporters are known mediators of drug disposition that facilitate the influx of substrates and various chemotherapeutic agents into cells. Polymorphisms in the SLC19A1, SLCO1B1, and SLCO1B3 gene influence the prognosis in the cancer patients, but little is known about their role in lung cancer in Asians. So, the current study aims to investigate the polymorphisms in SLC19A1, SLCO1B1, and SLCO1B3 genes in Northern Indian lung cancer patients.

METHODS

Patients with lung cancer who had a confirmed histology and cytology diagnosis were enrolled in the study. SLC polymorphisms were assessed by Polymerase Chain Reaction-Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for variations in SLC19A1 (G⁸⁰ A), SLCO1B1 (A³⁸⁸ G, T⁵²¹ C), and SLCO1B3 (A^1683-5676 G).

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION

Our results showed that mutant genotype for SLC19A1 G⁸⁰ A polymorphism had higher median survival time (MST) compared to wild genotype. ADCC patients with mutant genotype showed better survival compared to wild genotype for SLC19A1 G⁸⁰ A. SCLC patients G⁸⁰ A polymorphism showed increased survival in patients with mutant genotype (p = 0.04). In SLCO1B3, A^1683-5676 G patients carrying heterozygous alleles and administered with platinum and docetaxel showed inferior survival (p = 0.006). In T⁵²¹ C variant, patients with carrier genotype had reduced chances of developing anaemia (p = 0.04). Patients with SLC19A1 and SLCO1B3 variants showed lower incidence of thrombocytopenia and nephrotoxicity.

WHAT IS NEW AND CONCLUSION

Our findings imply that Solute Carrier gene polymorphisms modulate the overall survival in lung cancer patients undergoing platin-based doublet chemotherapy, also these polymorphisms have a modifying impact on the associated adverse events/toxicity.

Activated FXR promotes xenobiotic metabolism of T-2 toxin and attenuates oxidative stress in broiler chicken liver

The transmission of T-2 toxin and its metabolites into the edible tissues of poultry has potential effects on human health. The bile acid and xenobiotic system composes an intricate physiological network of chemoprotective and transporter-related functions, which ensures the detoxification and removal of harmful xenobiotic and endobiotic compounds from the body. This study revealed that cholic acid (CA), as one of the bile acids, promoted the metabolism of T-2 toxin in vivo by inducing the xenobiotic metabolism enzymes expression, thereby increasing the stress resistance and attenuating the oxidative stress. This study also indicated that dietary supplementation of 1% CA alleviated the mortality caused by T-2 toxin. Liver histology results demonstrated that CA supplementation significantly reduced inflammatory cell infiltration, sinusoidal expansion and congestion. Biochemistry results showed that the elevations of plasma alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) activities and the increase in concentration of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) in liver induced by the T-2 toxin were decreased by dietary supplementation of 1% CA. Additionally, CA supplementation led to the increase in superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, but the decrease in catalase (CAT) activity in broiler chicken livers. Based on these findings, we propose that activation of FXR promotes T-2 toxin xenobiotic metabolism, and FXR plays a hepatoprotection role in liver injury induced by T-2 toxin.

Generalizability and applicability of results obtained from populations of European descent regarding the effect direction and size of HDL-C level-associated genetic variants to the Hungarian general and Roma populations

OBJECTIVES

Large-scale association studies that mainly involve European populations identified many genetic loci related to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels, one of the most important indicators of the risk for cardiovascular diseases. The question with intense speculation of whether the effect estimates obtained from European populations for different HDL-C level-related SNPs are applicable to the Roma ethnicity, the largest minority group in Europe with a South Asian origin, was addressed in the present study.

DESIGN

The associations between 21 SNPs (in the genes LIPC(G), CETP, GALNT2, HMGCP, ABCA1, KCTD10 and WWOX) and HDL-C levels were examined separately in adults of the Hungarian general (N = 1542) and Roma (N = 646) populations by linear regression. Individual effects (direction and size) of single SNPs on HDL-C levels were computed and compared between the study groups and with data published in the literature.

RESULTS

Significant associations between SNPs and HDL-C levels were more frequently found in general subjects than in Roma subjects (11 SNPs in general vs. 4 SNPs in Roma). The CETP gene variants rs1532624, rs708272 and rs7499892 consistently showed significant associations with HDL-C levels across the study groups (p ˂ 0.05), indicating a possible causal variant(s) in this region. Although nominally significant differences in effect size were found for three SNPs (rs693 in gene APOB, rs9989419 in gene CETP, and rs2548861 in gene WWOX) by comparing the general and Roma populations, most of these SNPs did not have a significant effect on HDL-C levels. The β coefficients for SNPs in the Roma population were found to be identical both in direction and magnitude to the effect obtained previously in large-scale studies on European populations.

CONCLUSIONS

The effect of the vast majority of the SNPs on HDL-C levels could be replicated in the Hungarian general and Roma populations, which indicates that the effect size measurements obtained from the literature can be used for risk estimation for both populations.

Is the Definition of Roma an Important Matter? The Parallel Application of Self and External Classification of Ethnicity in a Population-Based Health Interview Survey

The Roma population is typified by a poor and, due to difficulties in ethnicity assessment, poorly documented health status. We aimed to compare the usefulness of self-reporting and observer-reporting in Roma classification for surveys investigating differences between Roma and non-Roma populations. Both self-reporting and observer-reporting of Roma ethnicity were applied in a population-based health interview survey. A questionnaire was completed by 1849 people aged 18–64 years; this questionnaire provided information on 52 indicators (morbidity, functionality, lifestyle, social capital, accidents, healthcare use) indicators. Multivariate logistic regression models controlling for age, sex, education and employment were used to produce indicators for differences between the self-reported Roma (N = 124) and non-Roma (N = 1725) populations, as well as between observer-reported Roma (N = 179) and non-Roma populations (N = 1670). Differences between interviewer-reported and self-reported individuals of Roma ethnicity in statistical inferences were observed for only seven indicators. The self-reporting approach was more sensitive for two indicators, and the observer-reported assessment for five indicators. Based on our results, the self-reported identity can be considered as a useful approach, and the application of observer-reporting cannot considerably increase the usefulness of a survey, because the differences between Roma and non-Roma individuals are much bigger than the differences between indicators produced by self-reported or observer-reported data on individuals of Roma ethnicity.