RESUMEN
PURPOSE: Asthma is the most prevalent disease in India according to the national survey conducted by NFHS 2 in 1998-1999. Matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), a collagenase encoded by the MMP-2 gene, degrades the type IV collagen and is responsible for inflammatory responses. This is a pilot study evaluating the role of MMP-2 -1306C/T promoter single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in asthma pathogenesis. METHODS: A case-control study was performed with a total of 824 adult subjects, including 410 adult asthmatics and 414 healthy controls from regions of North India. The MMP-2 -1306C/T polymorphism was genotyped by the Tetra-Primer Amplification Refractory Mutation System Polymerase Chain Reaction (Tetra-Primer ARMS PCR). RESULTS: Statistical analysis of the results for the MMP-2 -1306C/T polymorphism revealed an extremely protective role of the mutant T allele in asthma pathogenesis with OR=0.45, 95% CI (0.35-0.58) and P=0.000. The heterozygous CT genotype also conferred protection from asthma with OR=0.37, 95% CI (0.27-0.51) and P=0.000. The homozygous TT genotype was also significantly associated with asthma with OR=0.35, 95% CI (0.16-0.72) and P=0.002. Moreover, the polymorphism was significantly associated with all the phenotypic traits of the disease. CONCLUSION: The MMP-2 -1306C/T promoter polymorphism confers significant protection from asthma in the studied North Indian population