Effects of recombinant human interferon α1b on Bcl-2 and c-myc expression in chronic myeloid leukemia and correlation with clinical treatment efficacy

Objective: Recombinant human interferon alpha 1b is a clinical drug in treating certain viral diseases or malignant tumors, and is also widely used in treating leukemia, although its anti-tumor mechanism remains unclear. This study aimed to investigate the effect of recombinant human interferon alpha 1b on expression of peripheral anti-tumor genes Bcl-2 and c-myc, and its correlation with clinical treatment efficacy. Patients and methods: A total of 95 chronic myeloid leukemia patients were recruited. Among all patients 46 received recombinant human interferon a1b and hydroxyurea, and 49 patients received hydroxyurea treatment only. Fluorescent qRT-PCR was used to measure mRNA expression of Bcl-2 and c-myc in peripheral blood of chronic myeloid leukemia patients. Treatment efficacy was evaluated from the aspect of hematology, molecular and cellular genetics. SPSS software was used to analyse the correlation between Bcl-2 and c-myc mRNA expression and clinical treatment efficacy. Results: With elongated treatment time, Bcl-2 expression was significantly elevated after 6 w combined treatment, and c-myc expression was increased after 2 w combined treatment. Single hydroxyurea treatment group showed elevated levels after 6 w. Clinical treatment efficiency was positively correlated with Bcl-2 mRNA expression (r=0.541 similar to 0.623, p<0.01), and c-myc mRNA expression (r=0.645 similar to 0.612, p<0.01). Conclusions: Recombinant human interferon alpha 1b plays an important role in chronic myeloid leukemia treatment via facilitating Bcl-2 and c-myc expression.