Drug effects 'vary in race groups'
Updated on 29 February 2008
Genetic racial differences can influence the way people of European and African descent fight off infection or respond to drugs, a study has shown.
Scientists in the US measured the activity of more than 9,000 genes and found that for almost 5% of the levels varied significantly between ethnic groups.
Major differences were seen in genes producing antibodies against microbial infection. Activity levels also differed widely among genes involved in fundamental cellular processes which would be expected to have an impact on drug responses and side effects.
The researchers looked at gene "expression", or activity, in cell lines donated by 180 healthy individuals. Sixty nuclear families, including a mother, father and child, were studied. Of these, 30 were Caucasians from Utah and 30 Yorubans from Ibadan, Nigeria.
Professor Eileen Dolan, from the University of Chicago, who led the research, said: "Our primary interest is the genes that regulate how people respond to medicines, such as cancer chemotherapy.
"We want to understand why different populations experience different degrees of toxicity when taking certain drugs and learn how to predict who might be most at risk for drug side effects."
Previous studies have shown that people of African descent may be more susceptible than Caucasians to infection by certain bacteria, such as the gum disease bug Porphyromonas gingivalis.
"Population differences in gene expression have only recently begun to be investigated," said Prof Dolan, whose findings are published in the online edition of the American Journal of Human Genetics.
"We believe they play a significant role in susceptibility to disease and in regulating drug response. Our current research focuses on how these genetic and expression differences play a role in sensitivity to adverse effects associated with chemotherapy."
Experts hope that understanding the genetics of the way people from different populations respond to drugs will improve treatments.
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