Abstract
Recombinant human erythropoietin (r‐HuEpo) has an important role in the treatment of anaemic patients. Because of the high cost of r‐HuEpo treatment, an early indicator of whether a patient is responding to the therapy would be valuable. Although measurement of gene expression is a promising new tool, it has not yet been established in clinical practice. The response pattern of a possible new marker, β‐globin mRNA, is compared with reticulocyte count, levels of haemoglobin, transferrin receptor and ferritin after r‐HuEpo treatment. Eight healthy volunteers were stimulated with erythropoietin three times a week for four weeks and compared with five untreated control subjects. Blood samples were collected before each erythropoietin injection. Quantitative measurement of β‐globin mRNA was performed by poly(A) selection onto a manifold plastic support, coated with oligo(dT). The mRNA was reverse transcribed, followed by quantitative analysis using PCR via the 5′ nuclease assay. The individuals treated with rHuEpo showed a more distinct increase in β‐globin mRNA levels than all other laboratory measurements. β‐globin mRNA levels are therefore promising as a marker for the response to treatment with Epo.