Study on the relationship between the Bcl-2/Bax ratio and the growth types of leukemic cells and drug resistance in acute myelogenous leukemia

Abstract

The ratio of Bcl-2 to Bax (Bcl-2/Bax) in 40 patients with acute myelogenous leukemia (AMD were determined. At the same time, the CFU-L of AML patients and drug resistance were detected by cell culture and MTT assay. The results showed that Bcl-2/Bax in AML was significantly higher than that in normal control (P<0.001). Bcl-2/Bax ratio in colony growth group was higher than that in no-growth group (P <0. 05). Between drug resistance group and drug sensitivity group there was a significant difference in Bcl-2/Bax ratio (P <0. 05). There were more cases of drug resistance in high ratio group (H) than in low ratio group (L) (P <0.05). Meanwhile, Complete Remission (CR) rate in group H was obviously lower than that in group L (P <0.05) and patients in group H tended to have poor response. The above results indicated that the alteration of Bcl-2 and Bax is an important mechanism in the pathogenesis, progress and the development of drug resistance in AML. The determination of Bcl-2/Bax ratio has far-reaching implication in the treatment, choice of chemotherapeutic agents, and prediction of prognosis.

Keywords

acute myelogenous leukemia / Bcl-2/Bax ratio / CFU-L / drug resistance