The examination about the usefulness of SLC38A9 as genetic biomarker to predict blood concentration of azathioprine.

2014 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 24590665
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Research Field: Applied pharmacology
• Research Institution: Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
• Principal Investigator: UCHIYAMA Kazuhiko 京都府立医科大学, 医学(系)研究科(研究院), 助教 (50298428)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): NAITO Yuji 京都府立医科大学, 医学研究科, 准教授 (00305575) ; TAKAGI Tomohisa 京都府立医科大学, 医学研究科, 准教授 (70405257)
• Project Period (FY): 2012-04-01 – 2015-03-31
• Keywords: azathioprine / 6-TGN / genetic biomarker

Outline of Final Research Achievements

Azathioprine (AZA) is widely used for the treatment of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. In this study, single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to differential gene expression affecting AZA drug metabolism in combination therapy with 5-ASA were examined.
To identify genetic biomarkers for the prediction of 6-TGN blood concentration, ExpressGenotyping analysis, which is able to detect critical pharmacogenetic SNPs by analyzing drug-induced expression allelic imbalance (EAI) of premature RNA, was used. Both in HapMap lymphocytes, and blood samples on 38 patients with inflammatory bowel disease treated with AZA, corroboration of the obtained SNPs was attempted. Among them, SNPs within SLC38A9 showed a particular correlation with patients’ 6-TGN blood concentrations. This study provides helpful information on genetic biomarkers for optimized AZA/5-ASA treatment of IBD patients.

Free Research Field

Gastroenterology