THE mRNA EXPRESSION OF CYTOCHROME P450 ENZYMES IN PERIPHERAL BLOOD LYMPHOCYTES IN PATIENTS WITH LUNG CANCER

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Several mutagens including benzo(a)pyrene (B[a]P) and 4-(methylnitrosamino)-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) in tobacco smoke are known to be metabolized by cytochrome P450 enzymes (CYPs). These mutagens may induce airway carcinogenesis. We measured the mRNA expression of CYPs 1A1, 1A2, 2A6/7, 2B6, 4B1, 2C, 2D6 and 2E1 the peripheral blood lymphocytes from 30 patients with lung cancer and 30 healthy controls by semi-quantitative competitive reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction (QC-RT-PCR) in order to determine the expression levels of these CYPs in patients with lung cancer. The mRNA levels of CYPs 1A1 (p<0.001), 4B1 (p<0.001) and 2C (p<0.001) were significantly higher and CYPs 2D6 (p<0.0001) and 2E1 (p<0.0001) were significantly lower in patients with lung cancer than in healthy controls. The same results were obtained when only smokers in both groups were compared. Our study revealed that the mRNA expression levels of CYPs in peripheral blood lymphocytes were different in patients with lung cancer and healthy controls. The elevated level of expression of some CYPs in the patients may reflect the risk of carcinogenesis of lung cancer.