Abstract
BACKGROUND: Methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR; NM_005957.4) is the key enzyme for folate metabolism which plays in DNA biosynthesis and the epigenetic process of DNA methylation. MTHFR gene polymorphisms, the c. 677C>T and c. 1298A>C have been implicated as risk factors for several types of cancers as the acute leukemia. AIM: We have optimized a duplex polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay (PCR-RFLP) for the simultaneous detection of both variants in acute leukemia patients, from Tunisia. METHODS: Genomic DNA was extracted from EDTA-anticoagulant blood samples from a total of 50 patients suffering from acute leukemia (AL). After DNA extraction, the polymerase chain reaction using specific primers, designed using Primer 3 Software. Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) was performed in two separate tubes followed by agarose gel electrophoresis. CONCLUSION: This new method has proved to be a rapid, simple, and reliable method that should facilitate high throughput genotyping of MTHFR polymorphisms in acute leukemia.