Importance of Genetic Polymorphisms in MT1 and MT2 Genes in Metals Homeostasis and Their Relationship with the Risk of Acute Pancreatitis Occurrence in Smokers-Preliminary Findings

Association of metallothionein 2A rs10636 with low mean corpuscular volume (MCV), low mean corpuscular haemoglobin (MCH) in healthy Taiwanese

Human metallothionein-2A (MT2A) protein participates in metal homeostasis, detoxification, oxidative stress reduction, and immune defense. It decreases heavy metal ions and reactive oxygen species (ROS) during injury of cells and tissues. The single nucleotide polymorphisms at the MT2A gene have been associated in various human diseases including cancer. The current study aimed to elucidate associations between MT2A genotypes with the clinical, biochemical, and molecular characteristics that potentially related to lowered MT2A ex-pression. One hundred and forty-one healthy Taiwanese subjects were enrolled from Changhua Show-Chwan Memorial Hospital. Clinical, biochemical and molecular characteristics including the frequent minor allele SNPs, rs28366003 and rs10636, within the MT2A gene were determined. The genotype distribution of MT2A rs10636 fits the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. The significant associations with gradually decline of mean corpuscular volume (MCV) and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH) were identified with MT2A rs10636 and rs28366003 using analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey's analysis as a post hoc test. We further validated the correlations between the expressions of genes in erythropoiesis, cholesterol synthesis, platelet synthesis, insulin with MT2A using the web-based Gene Expression Profiling Interactive Analysis (GEPIA) databases. The results revealed that hypoxia-inducible factor 1α (HIF-1α), erythropoietin (EPO), lipoprotein lipase (LPL), and lecithin-cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) mRNA ex-pression are significantly correlated with MT2A mRNA expression. In conclusion, these results suggested that genetic variations of MT2A rs10636 and rs28366003 might be an important risk factor for erythropoiesis in the Taiwanese general population.

Association of Genetic Variants in IL6 Gene (rs1800795) with the Concentration of Inflammatory Markers (IL-6, hs-CRP) and Superoxide Dismutase in the Blood of Patients with Acute Pancreatitis—Preliminary Findings

In the course of acute pancreatitis, interleukin-6 plays an important role as a mediator in the inflammatory response. The course of inflammatory disease is associated with intensive oxidative stress, which may activate transcription factors leading to gene-expression changes. Isoenzymes of superoxide dismutase are involved in the defense against free radicals. This study aimed to evaluate changes in IL-6 concentration and the concentration/activity of superoxide dismutase isoenzymes (SOD1, SOD2, and SOD3) in the blood of patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) in terms of rs1800795 polymorphism in the IL6 gene. In the smoking AP patients group with the GC and GG genotypes, the plasma SOD1 concentration was significantly higher (p = 0.0146 and p = 0.0250, respectively) than in patients with CC genotype for SNP rs1800795 in the IL6 gene. An increase in SOD1 concentration in erythrocytes of AP patients with GC genotypes was also demonstrated compared to the individuals from the group with GG genotype (p = 0.0408). Furthermore, a positive correlation between IL-6 and SOD1 concentrations in the plasma of AP patients with GC genotype for SNP rs1800795 was shown. These results indicate that SOD1 may play a protective role against oxidative damage induced by inflammation in the group of AP patients with GC genotype.