Munsaka, S. | bioRxiv Science

bioRxiv2023

Racial Disparities in the Genetic Landscape of Acute Myeloid Leukaemia from The Cancer Genome Atlas: Insights from a Bioinformatics Analysis

Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) is a heterogeneous disease with complex pathogenesis that affects hematopoietic stem cells. Ethnic and racial disparities have been reported to affect treatment and survival outcomes in AML patients. Here, we analysed clinical and transcriptomic data from The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) to investigate potential differences in the genetic landscape of AML between African and European individuals. We found several differentially expressed mRNA transcripts between the AML of Africans and Europeans. Notably, AML in African patients exhibited enrichment for several pathways, including signalling by G-protein-coupled receptors, oncostatin M, and codeine and morphine metabolism. In contrast, AML in European patients showed enrichment for pathways related to the glial cell-line derived neurotrophic factor/rearranged during transfection signalling axis, gamma-aminobutyric acid receptor activation, and ligand-gated ion transport channels. Additionally, kinase enrichment analysis identified shared and distinct kinases in AML among Africans and Europeans: Africans showed an enrichment of cyclin-dependent kinases, while Europeans exhibited an enrichment of ULK2, CSNK2B, and CAMK1. Our study highlights the potential importance of considering race when evaluating the genetic landscape of AML, which may improve treatment strategies for this disease.

bioinformatics↗

bioRxiv2020

EFFECTS OF BLOOD SUGAR LEVELS, KIDNEY DISEASE AND MEDICATION ON ANAEMIA STATUS OF TYPE 2 DIABETES MELLITUS PATIENTS

IntroductionLifestyle-related diseases like type 2 diabetes mellitus, have emerged as a significant public health problem due to rapid urbanization and industrialization. In 2018, the prevalence of type 2 diabetes mellitus was estimated to be 500 million cases worldwide and was comparable between high- and low-income countries. Diabetes leads to multiple complications, including end-stage renal disease, cardiovascular disease, infection, and death. Anaemia in diabetic individuals has severe adverse effects on the quality of life and is associated with disease progression. A cross-sectional study was conducted that included 101 participants. The study aimed to determine the prevalence of anaemia and kidney disease and their interplay with medication and/or blood glucose levels in T2D patients. Resultsseventy-one per cent of participants were females. Majority of patients 62% were on Insulin, 30% on metformin, 7% on a combination of metformin and glimepiride and 1% on glimepiride. Ninety-five (94%) of the participants were HIV negative. The prevalence of anaemia among the participants was 23% out of which 56% had moderate anaemia, and 44% had mild anaemia. Twenty-one per cent (21%) of the participants had high creatinine levels signifying impaired kidney function or kidney disease. Anaemia was significantly associated with kidney function, fasting blood glucose and use of metformin; p = 0.042 beta = 2.5, p = 0.025 beta = 2.7 and p = 0.040 beta = -2.5 respectively. ConclusionThe study found the prevalence of anaemia of 23%, which was of moderate public health concern. Also, the prevalence of kidney disease was high in patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus. It also found that kidney disease and high blood glucose levels increase the chances of developing anaemia. However, we found that metformin had a protective role against the development of anaemia in Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus patients.

pathology↗