Polymorphism of the catechol-O-methyltransferase gene in Han Chinese patients with psoriasis vulgaris

ABSTRACT

Psoriasis vulgaris is defined by a series of linked cellular changes in the skin: hyperplasia of epidermal keratinocytes, vascular hyperplasia and ectasia, and infiltration of T lymphocytes, neutrophils and other types of leukocytes in the affected skin. Catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT) 158 polymorphism can reduce the activity of the COMT enzyme that may trigger defective differentiation of keratinocytes in psoriasis. Immunocytes can degrade and inactivate catecholamines via monamine oxidase (MAO) and COMT in the cells. We hypothesized that the COMT-158G > A polymorphism was associated with the risk of psoriasis vulgaris in Han Chinese people. In a hospital-based case-control study, 524 patients with psoriasis vulgaris and 549 psoriasis-free controls were studied. COMT-158 G > A polymorphism was genotyped using the PCR sequence-specific primer (PCR-SSP) technique. We found no statistically significant association between the COMT-158 allele A and the risk of psoriasis vulgaris (p = 0.739 adjusted OR = 1.03; 95% CI = 0.81-1.31). This suggests that the COMT-158 G > A polymorphism may not contribute to the etiology of psoriasis vulgaris in the Han Chinese population.