Hydroxyurea Treated β-Thalassemia Children Demonstrate a Shift in Metabolism Towards Healthy Pattern

Sci Rep. 2018 Oct 11;8(1):15152. doi: 10.1038/s41598-018-33540-6.

Abstract

Augmentation of fetal hemoglobin (HbF) production has been an enduring therapeutic objective in β-thalassemia patients for which hydroxyurea (HU) has largely been the drug of choice and the most cost-effective approach. A serum metabolomics study on 40 patients with β-thalassemia prior to and after administration of HU was done along with healthy controls. Treated patients were divided further into non-responders (NR), partial (PR) and good (GR) per their response. 25 metabolites that were altered before HU therapy at p ≤ 0.05 and fold change >2.0 in β-thalassemia patients; started reverting towards healthy group after HU treatment. A prediction model based on another set of 70 HU treated patients showed a good separation of GR from untreated β-thalassemia patients with an overall accuracy of 76.37%. Metabolic pathway analysis revealed that various important pathways that were disturbed in β-thalassemia were reverted after treatment with HU and among them linoleic acid pathway was most impactfully improved in HU treated patients which is a precursor of important signaling molecules. In conclusion, this study indicates that HU is a good treatment option for β-thalassemia patients because in addition to reducing blood transfusion burden it also ameliorates disease complications by shifting body metabolism towards normal.

MeSH terms

  • Antisickling Agents / administration & dosage
  • Antisickling Agents / therapeutic use*
  • Child
  • Humans
  • Hydroxyurea / administration & dosage
  • Hydroxyurea / therapeutic use*
  • Linoleic Acid / blood
  • Linoleic Acid / metabolism
  • Metabolome*
  • beta-Thalassemia / blood
  • beta-Thalassemia / drug therapy*

Substances

  • Antisickling Agents
  • Linoleic Acid
  • Hydroxyurea