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INTRODUCTION. The over expresión of the multidrug resistance genes (MDR) specifficaly ABCB1 and ABCG2 correlate with a poor prognosis in patients with ALL. Different drugs specially the chomotherapeutic agents are they substrates. This genes encode a family of different membrane transports that Works with energy specifically the ATP. Metformin is a biguanide whose mechanism of action is the activiation of AMPK and depletes the levels of ATP. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: Evaluate the efficacy of the use of Metformin on the levels of expression of the MDR genes (ABCB1 y ABCG2) by RQ-PCR in ALL cell lines and patients with ALL during a preinduction treatment with prednisone. RESULTS. In vitro study . The ALL cell lines RS4, ReH, MOLT4 and SUB15 were elavluated. After the addition of Metformin (10uM) the expression level of ABCB1, ABCG2 started to decrease after the 24hrs of culture (mean expression level of 0.3823 ABCB1 and 0.4265 of ABCB2) with a máximum effect at 48 hours (0.2415 ABCB1 and 0.3452 ABCB2) The difference of levels were statystically significant (p= 0.0045). In vivo study . About 108 patients were evaluated, 44 (40.7%) in the arm of prednisone and 64 (59.3%) in the arm of prednisone plus metformin. Fort eh subanalysis of the MDR genes by RQ-PCR we select 25 patients (14 in the prednisone arm and 11 in the metformin arm). The mean levels of the genes was 0.1906 for the ABCB1 gene and 0.3371 of the ABDG2. At the moment of diagnosis about 32% were considerer with high level of expression (n=8), 28% (n=7) of low expression and 40% (n=10) do not express any of the both genes. After the treatment with Metformin 4 patients with high expression at diagnosis change the patter for low expression. Although there is no difference in means of the expression of genes in both arms (p = 0.391 , p = 0. 828) in the group of metformin the prognosis in the high expression group was better than in the prednisone arm (p=0.043). Fort he entire cohort the complete remission rate was higher in the Metformin cohort comparing with prednisone (86.4% versus 67.2%) and the refractoriness was higher in the group of prednisone (n=16, 25%) p=0.002. About the relapse, the addition of Metformin reduce the relapse rate ( 6 vs 21 patients, p = 0.027). Conclusion. The addition of metformin in a controlled enviroment reduce the expression of the MDR genes, but in vivo the impact is primarily on the refractory leukemias and the relapse rate Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.

Efecto de la metformina en la etapa de inducción en pacientes con leucemia aguda linfoblástica y su impacto clínico en la supervivenciaEffect of metformin added to chemotherapy on the survival of patients with acute lymphoblastic leukemiaBackground: Metformin has antineoplastic and cancer protective effects in vitro, sensitizing leukemia cells to chemotherapeutic agents, inducing apoptosis and cell cycle arrest. Aim: To assess the effect of metformin on the induction stage in patients with ALL and its impact on overall survival and relapse. Material and Methods. We included 123 patients treated with metformin and without metformin. The dose used was 850 mg PO at 8 h intervals. The survival analysis was used by Kaplan-Meier method, the difference between the distinct groups was performed using the log Rank test. Results. The overall survival at a median follow up of 700 days of follow-up was 43%, with a disease-free survival of 47%. Regarding the treatment groups, patients with metformin had a lower rate of relapse compared to the group receiving only chemotherapy (6.5% vs 17.1%, p = 0.006). Conclusions. The addition of metformin to the conventional treatment of ALL was associated with an improvement in survival, this association being independent of the type of biological risk at diagnosis. (Rev Med Chile 2018; 146: 846-853)

Objective In the last two years progress was made in molecular, physio pathological understanding and the form of transmission of COVID-19, and different therapeutic strategies have been explored to deal with the situation of the pandemic. However, the evaluation of certain genes that participate in the metabolism and transport of these drugs has not been fully explored. A lack of response to treatment and a lower survival have been observed that may be due to the presence of the ABCB1 drug resistance gene. Our research group analyzed whether the expression levels of the ABCB1 gene are associated with comorbidities, treatments, overall survival and risk of death in patients with severe COVID-19. Methods The expression levels of the ABCB1 gene were analyzed by RT-qPCR in 61 patients diagnosed with COVID-19. The association between the levels of expression, the risk variables and different treatments were determined by the Chi-Square test and the Fisher’s exact test. Global Survival (GS) was determined by the Kaplan–Meier method. The impact of high levels of expression and the risk of death was performed by odds ratio. Results The different risk variables showed that patients with either high or absent levels of ABCB1 gene expression presented a greater risk of death (OR 3.08, 95%, CI 1.02–9.26) as well as need for ventilatory support (OR 2.8, 95%, CI 0.98 −8.5). Patients with diabetes and COVID-19, treated with metformin, were associated with a lower risk of death (OR 1.11, 95%, CI 0.38–3.22). OS with respect to high or absent levels of expression of the ABCB1 gene was lower. Conclusion High levels or null expression of the ABCB1 gene are associated with a higher risk of death or progression of the disease, the use of metformin in patients with COVID-19 confers a lower risk of death.