Project description:Thiopurine has been used to maintain remission and to reduce antidrug antibody formation in monoclonal antibody therapy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The use of thiopurine is limited by side effects such as leukopenia. Thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) variants are associated with thiopurine-induced leukopenia in Westerners, but the frequency of the risk alleles is low in Asians. Recently, a variant in the nudix hydrolase 15 (NUDT15) gene (R139C, c.415C > T) was reported to be associated with early severe leukopenia in Asians. NUDT15 is an enzyme that converts 6-thio-(deoxy)guanosine triphosphate (6-T(d)GTP) to 6-thio-(deoxy)guanosine monophosphate (6-T(d)GMTP). The R139C variant impairs the stability of the protein and increases incorporation of 6-TGTP and 6-TdGTP into RNA and DNA, respectively, resulting in leukopenia. The frequency of C/C, C/T, and T/T are approximately 80%, 20%, and 1%, respectively in East Asians. Early leukopenia occurred in less than 3% of patients with C/C and in around 20% of those with C/T, whereas it occurred in almost all patients with T/T. Patients homozygous for this variant also develop severe hair loss. The measurement of NUDT15 R139C can increase the safety of thiopurine dramatically and is a successful example of personalized medicine in the field of IBD.
Project description:BackgroundGenetic variants of TPMT and NUDT15 have been reported to predict the inter-patient variability in response and toxicity profiles of patients receiving thiopurine therapy. However, the clinical utility of TPMT genotyping in guiding thiopurine doses has been questionable, in part due to underlying differences in the prevalence of TPMT variants in both Caucasian and Asian populations. Several NUDT15 variants have been associated with thiopurine-induced leukopenia, particularly in Asian cohorts. So far, none have been reported in a multiethnic Asian population.AimTo investigate the associations between TPMT and NUDT15 variants with thiopurine-induced myelotoxicity in 129 Asian inflammatory bowel disease patients.Materials & methodsPyrosequencing was performed to screen for TPMT and NUDT15 variants. Intracellular steady-state metabolite concentrations were quantified using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry.ResultsSignificant declines in nadir white blood cell, absolute neutrophil count and platelet counts were observed with increasing copy numbers of the risk T allele at NUDT15 c.415C>T locus (overall p < 0.05) within 4, 8 and 12 weeks and 6 months after thiopurine initiation. Patients with low and intermediate NUDT15 activity, as inferred from haplotype pairs, had significantly higher risks of leukopenia (p = 0.000253) and neutropenia (p = 0.002) compared with patients with normal NUDT15 activity.ConclusionThese findings highlight the critical relevance of NUDT15 pharmacogenetics in predicting for thiopurine-induced myelotoxicity and confirm the lack of significance of TPMT variants in Asian inflammatory bowel disease patients.
Project description:ImportanceUse of thiopurines may be limited by myelosuppression. TPMT pharmacogenetic testing identifies only 25% of at-risk patients of European ancestry. Among patients of East Asian ancestry, NUDT15 variants are associated with thiopurine-induced myelosuppression (TIM).ObjectiveTo identify genetic variants associated with TIM among patients of European ancestry with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).Design, setting, and participantsCase-control study of 491 patients affected by TIM and 679 thiopurine-tolerant unaffected patients who were recruited from 89 international sites between March 2012 and November 2015. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and exome-wide association studies (EWAS) were conducted in patients of European ancestry. The replication cohort comprised 73 patients affected by TIM and 840 thiopurine-tolerant unaffected patients.ExposuresGenetic variants associated with TIM.Main outcomes and measuresThiopurine-induced myelosuppression, defined as a decline in absolute white blood cell count to 2.5 × 109/L or less or a decline in absolute neutrophil cell count to 1.0 × 109/L or less leading to a dose reduction or drug withdrawal.ResultsAmong 1077 patients (398 affected and 679 unaffected; median age at IBD diagnosis, 31.0 years [interquartile range, 21.2 to 44.1 years]; 540 [50%] women; 602 [56%] diagnosed as having Crohn disease), 919 (311 affected and 608 unaffected) were included in the GWAS analysis and 961 (328 affected and 633 unaffected) in the EWAS analysis. The GWAS analysis confirmed association of TPMT (chromosome 6, rs11969064) with TIM (30.5% [95/311] affected vs 16.4% [100/608] unaffected patients; odds ratio [OR], 2.3 [95% CI, 1.7 to 3.1], P = 5.2 × 10-9). The EWAS analysis demonstrated an association with an in-frame deletion in NUDT15 (chromosome 13, rs746071566) and TIM (5.8% [19/328] affected vs 0.2% [1/633] unaffected patients; OR, 38.2 [95% CI, 5.1 to 286.1], P = 1.3 × 10-8), which was replicated in a different cohort (2.7% [2/73] affected vs 0.2% [2/840] unaffected patients; OR, 11.8 [95% CI, 1.6 to 85.0], P = .03). Carriage of any of 3 coding NUDT15 variants was associated with an increased risk (OR, 27.3 [95% CI, 9.3 to 116.7], P = 1.1 × 10-7) of TIM, independent of TPMT genotype and thiopurine dose.Conclusions and relevanceAmong patients of European ancestry with IBD, variants in NUDT15 were associated with increased risk of TIM. These findings suggest that NUDT15 genotyping may be considered prior to initiation of thiopurine therapy; however, further study including additional validation in independent cohorts is required.
Project description:BackgroundNUDT15 R139C is an Asian-prevalent genetic variant related to azathioprine (AZA) intolerance in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, it remains unclear how to utilize the genotyping results to improve the step-up dosing strategy with an already low starting dose in Asian practice.MethodsClinical data of eligible IBD patients who received AZA therapy and NUDT15 R139C testing were retrospectively collected. The relationship between NUDT15 genotype, AZA doses, and AZA-induced toxicity and efficacy were comprehensively analysed.ResultsA total of 159 patients were included for toxicity analysis. Compared with the wild genotype, patients heterozygous for R139C are more prone to developing myelotoxicity and alopecia (P = 0.007; P = 0.042). In particular, they had a 5.4-fold risk of developing myelotoxicity when AZA dosage was increased from 25 mg/d to 50 mg/d (P < 0.001). Regarding efficacy, 115 patients who had received AZA for >4 months and maintained clinical remission on AZA monotherapy were included for further analysis. R139C heterozygotes were finally titrated to a significantly lower dose than the wild genotype [median (interquartile range): 0.83 (0.75-0.96) vs 1.04 (0.89-1.33) mg/kg/d, P = 0.001], whereas the clinical remission rates did not differ between groups (P = 0.88).ConclusionsIBD patients with R139C heterozygote are highly susceptible to AZA-induced myelotoxicity at an escalated dose of 50 mg/d. Thus, they may require a smaller dose increase after a starting dose of 25 mg/d. The final target dose of these patients could be set lower than that of the wild genotypes without compromising efficacy.
Project description:Background/aimsThiopurines are key drugs for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). Recently, NUDT15 polymorphism (R139C, c.415C > T) has been shown to be associated with thiopurineinduced adverse events in Asian populations. In patients with the C/T genotype, low-dose thiopurine treatment is recommended, but its long-term efficacy and tolerability remain unclear. This study aimed to uncover the long-term efficacy and appropriate dosage of thiopurine for IBD patients with the C/T genotype.MethodsA total of 210 patients with IBD (103 UC and 107 CD) determined to have NUDT15 R139C variants were enrolled. Clinical data were retrospectively reviewed from medical records.ResultsOf 46 patients (21.9%) with the C/T genotype, 30 patients (65.2%) were treated with thiopurines. Three of whom (10.0%) discontinued thiopurine treatment due to adverse events and 27 of whom continued. The median maintenance dosage of 6-mercaptopurine was 0.25 mg/kg/day (range, 0.19-0.36 mg/kg/day), and 6-thioguanine nucleotides level was 230 (104-298) pmol/8 × 108 red blood cells. Cumulative thiopurine continuation rates for 120 months for patients with the C/C and C/T genotypes were not significantly different (P= 0.895). Cumulative non-relapse rates in the patients with UC treated with thiopurine monotherapy and surgery-free rates in CD patients treated with combination therapy (thiopurines and anti-tumor necrosis factor-α agents) for maintenance remission were not significantly different at 60 months (C/C vs. C/T, P= 0.339 and P= 0.422, respectively).ConclusionsLow-dose thiopurine treatment is an effective and acceptable treatment for patients with C/T genotype.
Project description:BackgroundPolymorphisms in thiopurine methyltransferase (TPMT) and Nudix hydrolase-15 (NUDT15) have been implicated as the predominant cause of thiopurine induced leukopenia in the Western countries and East Asia respectively. Exact role of these polymorphisms in South Asian population with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is uncertain.MethodsWe included consecutive patients with IBD who were initiated on thiopurines at a center in North India. The dosage of thiopurines was titrated using regular monitoring of hemogram and liver function tests. Three TPMT polymorphisms (c.238 G > C, c.460 G > A, and c.719A > G) and one NUDT15 polymorphism (c.415 C > T) were assessed. Comparison regarding incidence of leukopenia and maximum tolerated thiopurine dosage was performed between those with wild polymorphism and those with TPMT and NUDT15 polymorphisms, respectively.ResultsOf the 119 patients (61 males, mean age 36.8 ± 13.5 years), 105 (88.2%) had ulcerative colitis and 14 (11.8%) had Crohn's disease. Leukopenia was noted in 33 (27.7%), gastrointestinal intolerance in 5 (4.2%) and pancreatitis in 2 (1.6%). TPMT polymorphisms were detected amongst five patients of whom 1 developed leukopenia. NUDT15 polymorphism was noted in 13 patients of whom 7 had leukopenia. The odds of developing leukopenia in TPMT polymorphism were non-significant (0.77, 95% CI:0.0822 to 7.2134, P = 0.819) but were significantly higher in those with NUDT15 polymorphism (3.5933, 1.1041 to 11.6951, P value: = 0.0336).ConclusionNUDT15 polymorphism was more frequent than TPMT polymorphisms and was associated with thiopurine induced leukopenia. However, the tested polymorphisms account for only 24.2% of the risk of thiopurine induced leukopenia.
Project description:The thiopurines azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine (6-MP) are effective immune modulators and cytotoxic agents extensively used in the treatment of autoimmune diseases, graft rejection, and cancer. There is compelling epidemiologic evidence that thiopurine treatment increases the risk for a variety of tumors by mechanisms that are unclear. We investigated the in vivo mutagenicity of long-term thiopurine treatment by determining the frequency and spectra of somatic mutation events at the hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferase (HPRT) locus in peripheral T lymphocytes as well as the prevalence of mutant clonal proliferation in a cross-sectional analysis of data from 119 children and adults with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). ANOVA and regression were performed to assess relationships among the frequency and spectra of HPRT mutations with disease, duration of illness, duration of treatment, and total therapeutic dose of azathioprine and 6-MP. We observed a significant increase in the frequency of somatic mutations in 56 subjects treated with thiopurines for IBD compared with 63 subjects not treated with thiopurines. This increase was related to both total dose (P < 0.001) and duration of treatment (P < 0.001). Comparative mutation spectra analysis of 1,020 mutant isolates revealed a significant increase in the proportion of all transitions (P < 0.001), particularly G:C to A:T transitions (P < 0.001). Combined analyses of two signatures for mutant clonality, HPRT mutation, and T-cell receptor beta CDR3 region unique gene sequence also showed a significant thiopurine-dependent increase in mutant cell clonal proliferation (P < 0.001). These findings provide in vivo evidence for mutation induction as a potential carcinogenic mechanism associated with chronic thiopurine intervention.
Project description:Background/aimsRecent genome-wide analyses have provided strong evidence concerning adverse events caused by thiopurine drugs such as azathioprine (AZA) and 6-mercaptopurine. The strong associations identified between NUDT15 p.Arg139Cys and thiopurine-induced leukopenia and severe hair loss have been studied and confirmed over the last 2 years. However, other coding variants, including NUDT15 p.Val18_Val19insGlyVal, NUDT15 p.Val18Ile, and FTO p.Ala134Thr, and a noncoding variation in RUNX1 (rs2834826) remain to be examined in detail in this respect. Therefore, we investigated the correlation between these adverse events and the 5 recently identified variants mentioned above among Japanese patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD).MethodsOne hundred sixty thiopurine-treated patients with IBD were enrolled. Genotyping was performed using TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays or Sanger sequencing.ResultsNone of the 5 variants were associated with gastrointestinal intolerance to AZA. However, NUDT15 p.Arg139Cys was significantly associated with the interval between initiation and discontinuation of AZA among patients with gastrointestinal intolerance. This variant was strongly associated with early (<8 weeks) and late (≥8 weeks) leukopenia and severe hair loss. Moreover, it correlated with the interval between initiation of thiopurine therapy and leukopenia occurrence, and average thiopurine dose. NUDT15 p.Val18_Val19insGlyVal, NUDT15 p.Val18Ile, FTO p.Ala134Thr, and RUNX1 rs2834826 exhibited no significant relationship with the adverse events examined.ConclusionsOf the 5 variants investigated, NUDT15 p.Arg139Cys had the strongest impact on thiopurine-induced leukopenia and severe hair loss; therefore, its genotyping should be prioritized over that of other variants in efforts to predict these adverse events in Japanese patients with IBD.
Project description:The effectiveness of thiopurine drugs in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) was confirmed more than a half-century ago. It was proven that these can be essential immunomodulatory medications. Since then, they have been used routinely to maintain remission of Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). The cytotoxic properties of thiopurines and the numerous adverse effects of the treatment are controversial. However, the research subject of their pharmacology, therapy monitoring, and the search for predictive markers are still very relevant. In this article, we provide an overview of the current knowledge and findings in the field of thiopurines in IBD, focusing on the aspect of their cytotoxicity. Due to thiopurines' benefits in IBD therapy, it is expected that they will still constitute an essential part of the CD and UC treatment algorithm. More studies are still required on the modulation of the action of thiopurines in combination therapy and their interaction with the gut microbiota.
Project description:BackgroundDespite NUDT15 variants showing significant association with thiopurine-induced adverse events (AEs) in Asians, it remains unclear which variants of NUDT15 or whether additional genetic variants should be tested to predict AEs. To clarify the best pharmacogenetic test to be used clinically, we performed association studies of NUDT15 variants and haplotypes with AEs, genome-wide association study (GWAS) to discover additional variants, and ROC analysis to select the model to predict severe AEs.MethodsOverall, 2630 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) were enrolled and genotyped for NUDT15 codon 139; 1291 patients were treated with thiopurines. diplotypes were analyzed in 970 patients, and GWASs of AEs were performed with 1221 patients using population-optimized genotyping array and imputation.ResultsWe confirmed the association of NUDT15 p.Arg139Cys with leukopenia and alopecia (p = 2.20E-63, 1.32E-69, OR = 6.59, 12.1, respectively), and found a novel association with digestive symptoms (p = 6.39E-04, OR = 1.89). Time to leukopenia was significantly shorter, and when leukopenia was diagnosed, thiopurine doses were significantly lower in Arg/Cys and Cys/Cys than in Arg/Arg. In GWASs, no additional variants were found to be associated with thiopurine-induced AEs. Despite strong correlation of leukopenia frequency with estimated enzyme activities based on the diplotypes (r2 = 0.926, p = 0.0087), there were no significant differences in the AUCs of diplotypes from those of codon 139 to predict severe AEs (AUC = 0.916, 0.921, for acute severe leukopenia, AUC = 0.990, 0.991, for severe alopecia, respectively).ConclusionsGenotyping of NUDT15 codon 139 was sufficient to predict acute severe leukopenia and alopecia in Japanese patients with IBD.