VEGF Gene Polymorphisms In Ankylosing Spondylitis / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: Angiogenesis may be important in the pathogenesis of ankylosing spondylitis (AS) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) has been known as one of the most potent pro-angiogenic factors. The association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) of the VEGF gene and AS has not been reported. We have sought to investigate the association of AS with candidate polymorphisms in the VEGF gene which have been reported to be associated with VEGF production. METHODS: We analyzed four SNPs of the VEGF gene in AS patients (n=146) and healthy controls (n=140). Allele frequencies of polymorphisms of the VEGF gene at positions -2578, -1154, -634 and 936 were determined by PCR-RFLP assay using genomic DNA. RESULTS: All four polymorphisms were not deviated from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium in bothAS patients and controls. There were no statistically significant differences in genotype distributions and allele frequencies between patients and controls for the -2578C/A, -1154G/A, -634C/G and 936C/T. Analysis of genotype distributions of four SNPs according to sex did not show any difference between patients and controls. The frequency of HLA-B27 was similar between different genotypes in all four SNPs on the VEGF gene.The frequencies of haplotypes which were predicted using the Bayesian algorithm were not significantly different between patients and controls. CONCLUSION: The present data indicate that four selected SNPs of the VEGF gene are not associated with the susceptibility to AS in Korean patients.