The association between FOXO3a rs4946936 gene polymorphism and the levels of FOXO3a among chronic granulocytic leukemia patients treated with imatinib mesylate.

Background:  The gene  FOXO3a  has been elucidated to govern the development of chronic granulocytic leukemia (CGL). Moreover, it has been suggested that the levels of  FOXO3a  in circulation are affected by the  FOXO3a  rs4946936 gene polymorphism. However, no study has assessed the correlation between the  FOXO3a  rs4946936 gene polymorphism and the levels of  FOXO3a . The objective of this study was to assess the association between the  FOXO3a  rs4946936 gene polymorphism and the levels of  FOXO3a  in CGL patients treated with imatinib mesylate.  Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted from February 2019 to February 2020. The genotyping of  FOXO3a  rs4946936 gene polymorphism was conducted using PCR-RFLP, and the levels of  FOXO3a  were assessed using ELISA. The association between the  FOXO3a  rs4946936 gene polymorphism and the levels of  FOXO3a  were assessed using multiple logistic regression.  Results:  A total of 60 CGL patients were assessed in our study. Among them, the CC, CT, and TT genotypes of the  FOXO3a  rs4946936 gene polymorphism were 35.0%, 48.3%, and 16.7% respectively. Our calculation revealed that elevated levels of  FOXO3a  were found in CGL patients with the CC genotype of the  FOXO3a  rs4946936 gene polymorphism. While we failed to clarify the association between either the CT or the TT genotype of  FOXO3a  rs4946936 gene polymorphism and the levels of  FOXO3a .  Conclusion: Our study identifies that the CC genotype of the  FOXO3a  rs4946936 gene polymorphism affects the elevated levels of  FOXO3a  in CGL patients treated with imatinib mesylate.