Pharmacological mechanism of mylabris in the treatment of leukemia based on bioinformatics and systematic pharmacology

Leukemia is a common blood cancer, whose treatment usually necessitates chemo/radiotherapy and bone marrow transplant. Hence, safer and more effective options are urgently needed. Mylabris, the dried body of blister beetles, has been used extensively in traditional Chinese medicine. This study applied bioinformatics and systematic pharmacology to investigate the mechanism of action of mylabris in the treatment of leukemia. Five effective components and 35 corresponding target proteins were identified by screening the TCMSP database; whereas 776 genes related to leukemia were selected using OMIM, GeneCards, and the Therapeutic Target Database. Eight genes common to mylabris and leukemia were identified. Protein-protein interaction network analysis and a component-target-pathway diagram identified TP53 and PTEN as key gene targets of mylabris in the treatment of leukemia. GO enrichment analysis pointed to DNA damage and cell cycle disorder caused by p53 signaling as the most significant processes; whereas KEGG enrichment pointed to the p53 signaling pathway. In summary, mylabris may exert a therapeutic effect on leukemia by triggering DNA damage, inducing apoptosis, as well as inhibiting the growth and proliferation of tumor cells through the regulation of TP53 and PTEN. These findings provide a mechanistic rationale for the treatment of leukemia with traditional Chinese medicine.

Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase Gene C677T and A1298C Polymorphic Sequence Variations Influences the Susceptibility to Chronic Myeloid Leukemia in Kashmiri Population

Background: Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene is a crucial regulator of folate metabolism and its two prominent polymorphic variants C677T and A1298C lead to decreased MTHFR enzyme activity. Aim of the Study: We planned this case-control study based on numerous studies supporting the association of MTHFR polymorphisms (C677T and A1298C) with CML risk in different ethnic populations. Therefore, the influence of these polymorphisms on CML susceptibility was investigated among Kashmiri population (North India). Materials and Methods: Polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) technique was employed for genotyping MTHFR C677T and A1298C SNP's in 125 CML patients as against 150 age and gender matched healthy controls. Results: A significant difference was observed in frequency of 677CT genotype between cases and controls [46.4 vs. 27.3% (p = 0.0005)]. Similarly combined 677CT+TT genotype showed significant difference between cases and controls [50.4 vs. 28.6% (p = 0.0002)]. Both MTHFR 677CT and 677CT+TT genotypes imposed greater than 2-fold risk of developing CML (OR = 2.4, 95%CI: 1.46-4.05; OR = 2.5, 95%CI: 1.53-4.16). In case of A1298C SNP, the frequency of 1298AC genotype was higher in controls (64.0%) as compared to CML cases (48.8%) (p = 0.04) and imparted a significant protective role from CML predisposition. Furthermore, haplotype analysis revealed only "677CT/1298AA" haplotype significantly increased the risk of CML predisposition [(p = 0.008) (OR = 3.2, 95% CI: 1.3-7.4)]. Conclusion: We conclude that both MTHFR C677T and A1298C polymorphisms may be important genetic modifiers and seem to have a plausible role to confer risk of CML in Kashmiri population, where C677T SNP strongly increases the risk of CML while as A1298C SNP has a protective effect.

The protective effect of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T polymorphism against prostate cancer risk: Evidence from 23 case-control studies

Genetic polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) were considered to have some influence on both folate metabolism and cancer risk. Previous studies on the relation between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and prostate cancer (PCa) risk remained controversial. To derive a more precise estimation of the relationship, we carried out an update comprehensive meta-analysis to assess the associations of the MTHFR C677T polymorphism with the susceptibility of PCa. Twenty-three trials with a total of 24,024 participants on the MTHFR C677T polymorphism that met inclusion criteria were analyzed in the current study. Overall, no statistical relationship was found with any MTHFR C677T genetic model associated with susceptibility to PCa (TT versus CC, OR=0.83, 95% CI 0.68-1.02, P=0.07; CT versus CC, OR=0.95, 95% CI 0.85-1.07, P=0.43; Dominant, OR=0.93, 95% CI 0.83-1.03, P=0.17; Recessive, OR=0.84, 95% CI 0.70-1.02, P=0.09.). Nevertheless, subgroup analysis found a reduced PCa risk associated with polymorphism in Asian population (TT versus CC, CT versus CC, dominant and recessive model). Moreover, the protective effect of polymorphism against PCa risk was also shown upon hospital-based studies (TT versus CC, and recessive model). When benign prostate hyperplasia was chosen as controls, both TT versus CC and recessive model showed significant difference. In addition, the protective effect of homozygote TT against high aggressive PCa was proved to have significant difference. Taken together, the existing evidence indicates the homozygote TT of MTHFR C677T should be viewed as a protective factor against PCa risk for clinical practice with the consideration of different gene background, study design as well as specific controls.