Hydroxyurea has been shown to be efficacious for the treatment of sickle cell anemia (SCA), primarily through the induction of fetal hemoglobin (HbF). However, the exact mechanisms by which hydroxyurea can induce HbF remain incompletely defined, although direct transcriptional effects and altered cell cycle kinetics have been proposed. In this study, we investigated potential epigenetic and alternative molecular mechanisms of hydroxyurea-mediated HbF induction by examining methylation patterns within the G ␥-globin promoter and miRNA expression within primary CD71 ؉ erythrocytes of patients with SCA, both at baseline before beginning hydroxyurea therapy and after reaching maximum tolerated dose (MTD). Using both cross-sectional analysis and paired-sample analysis, we found that the highly methylated G ␥-globin promoter was inversely correlated to baseline HbF levels, but only slightly altered by hydroxyurea treatment. Conversely, expression of several specific miRNAs was significantly increased after hydroxyurea treatment, and expression of miR-26b and miR-151-3p were both associated with HbF levels at MTD. The significant associations identified in these studies suggest that methylation may be important for regulation of baseline HbF, but not after hydroxyurea treatment, whereas changes in miRNA expression may be associated with hydroxyurea-mediated HbF induction. This study was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT00305175) .
IntroductionHydroxyurea is a potent ribonucleotide reductase inhibitor that was initially developed as an antineoplastic agent, but was later found to be beneficial for the treatment of sickle cell anemia (SCA) primarily through its ability to induce fetal hemoglobin (HbF). [1][2][3][4] Clinical trials have proven hydroxyurea to be efficacious in children, adolescents, and adults with SCA for increasing HbF. 2,[5][6][7] Hydroxyurea decreases the number and frequency of vasoocclusive pain crises, episodes of acute chest syndrome, hospitalizations, 6,8-10 and more recently has been shown to also reduce mortality. 11,12 Although highly efficacious for most patients with SCA, there is considerable inter-patient variability creating a broad spectrum of HbF induction. 13,14 HbF induction by cytotoxic drugs, such as hydroxyurea, has been correlated to cell cycle inhibition leading to activation of stress erythropoiesis. [15][16][17] Other studies have suggested that HbF induction by hydroxyurea is mediated more specifically via nitric oxide-dependent transcriptional mechanisms 18,19 and cyclic nucleotides. 20,21 However, the precise mechanisms by which hydroxyurea can induce HbF in patients with SCA remain incompletely defined.Expression of erythroid genes at the -globin locus is developmentally regulated by a complex series of epigenetic and molecular processes. Proposed epigenetic mechanisms of HbF regulation in hemoglobinopathies include methylation, histone deacetylation, and chromosomal looping (reviewed in Sankaran et al, 22 Bank et al, 23 and Stamatoyannopoulos et al 24 ). Methylation i...