Evaluation of alternations in the expression of CCR5 chemokine receptor in acute myeloid leukemia patients with monocytic differentiation after chemotherapy

 Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a heterogeneous cancer that is caused by various pathologic mechanisms. Cancer cells change the chemokine system. CCR5 receptor has an indirect effect on cancer progression by controlling immune response against the tumor. This receptor can accelerate tumor growth and play a significant role in tumor metastasis, and it has been shown that CCR5 antagonists inhibit tumor growth. In this study, we decided to investigate the CCR5 receptor in AML patients after the first stage chemotherapy.   This case-control study was conducted in Kerman University of Medical Sciences during 2017-2018. Twenty five AML patients with monocytic differentiation post the first stage of chemotherapy (the fourth week after chemotherapy), after being examined for the peripheral blood smear and confirmed for the absence of blast cells, were evaluated by flow cytometry for the expression of the CCR5 receptor on the peripheral blood leukocytes population and were compared with healthy controls. The data were analyzed by independent T-Test and SPSS (version 22).   The results of this study showed that the mean expression of CCR-5 in the patients group post-chemotherapy (1.04 ± 0.26) was similar with the healthy control group (1.04 ± 0.16).  Moreover, there was no meaningful difference between the two groups.     Chemotherapy has caused the CCR5 receptor expression to be in its base state compared to the healthy control group. Other chemokine syndromes and their receptors could be examined to find out which role would play a significant role in the recurrence of patients.