Circulating MCP-1 level and tilde 2518 gene polymorphism as a marker of nephropathy development in Egyptian patients

ABSTRACT

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 [MCP-1] is a member of CC chemokine that plays an important role in the recruitment of monocytes/macrophages into renal tubulointerstitium. A biallelic A/G polymorphism at position tilde 2518 in the MCP-1 gene was found to regulate MCP-1 expression. MCP-1 and its A/G gene polymorphism have been implicated in the pathogenesis of some renal diseases. The aim of this study was to evaluate the role of circulating MCP-1 level and the relevance of functional genetic variations of MCP-1 as early predictors of the development of glomerulonephropathy [GN] in Egyptian patients. This is a case control study that was conducted in 50 GN patients, 20 non-GN cases and 20 ethnically matched healthy controls. MCP-1 serum level was detected by ELISA technique, while genotyping of polymorphisms in the MCP-1 genes was performed using a polymerase chain reaction [PCR] followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism [RFLP] detection High MCP-1 circulating levels and subsequently MCP-1tilde 2518G polymorphism are associated with the developing of nephropathy irrespective to the underlying etiology. MCP-1 serum level was significantly high when compared with healthy controls [P = 0.0007] and non-GN cases [P = 0.01]. There was predominance of A allele at tilde 2518 of MCP-1 gene in healthy controls [87.5%] and non-GN cases [77.5%]. The frequency of the tilde 2518G MCP-1 polymorphism was significantly higher in GN patients than in healthy controls [P <0.0001; OR= 15.6] and non-GN cases [P < 0.0001; OR = 7.7]. Interestingly, homozygosity for G allele plays the main role in such association. A/G polymorphism in MCP-1 gene and subsequently high circulating MCP-1 level confer a relevant role in the susceptibility to the development of nephropathy in the Egyptian population denoting that MCP-1 system could be an early predictor of such renal complication