TP53 rs1042522 and rs8064946 variants in myocardial infarction

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the hypothesis that the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of TP53 gene are related to a risk of myocardial infarction.

METHODS

The coding SNP at codon 72 (rs1042522) and non-coding rs8064946 SNP were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction with sequence specific primers in 205 Czech patients with myocardial infarction and 148 Czech control subjects.

RESULTS

The distribution of both SNPs was in agreement with the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and was similar to other European populations. Our power analysis showed 96 % of probability to detect an odd ratio equal to 2. Neither rs1042522 nor rs8064946 were associated with the risk of myocardial infarction. The haplotypes combined of rs1042522 and rs8064946 were not associated with myocardial infarction in the present study.

CONCLUSION

The TP53 SNPs are not strongly associated with genetic predisposition to myocardial infarction (Tab. 3, Fig. 3, Ref. 23).

Sequence variation in promoter regions of genes for CC chemokine ligands (CCL)19 and 21 in Czech patients with myocardial infarction

Recruitment of inflammatory cells to the arterial wall is an important pathogenic mechanism of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease (CAD). Functional variability in the genes encoding for chemokines that promote infiltration of atherosclerotic plaques by macrophages and lymphocytes may therefore contribute to the genetic susceptibility to CAD. We, therefore, investigated the association between myocardial infarction (MI) and polymorphisms in the promoter regions of the chemokine genes CCL19 and CCL21. Based on re-sequencing screening we selected and, using PCR-SSP, determined three polymorphisms of CCL19 gene (GenBank ID rs2233872) and CCL21 gene (GenBank ID rs11574914 and rs11574915) in 211 Czech patients with MI and 150 healthy control subjects. There was no difference in allelic frequencies of the investigated SNPs between patients and controls (p>0.05). However, the proportion of homozygotes for the minor G allele of the CCL21 promoter variant (rs11574915 GG) was lower among the MI patients (1%) in comparison with the control subjects (5%, nominal p=0.03). Though rare in the Czech population, CCL21 (rs11574915) GG genotype may confer protection from myocardial infarction. Our preliminary data have to be independently replicated.

Variation in the IL1B, TNF and IL6 genes and individual susceptibility to prosthetic joint infection

Background

Prosthetic joint infection (PJI) is an important failure mechanism of total joint arthroplasty (TJA). Here we examine whether the particular genetic variants can lead to increased susceptibility to PJI development.

Results

We conducted a genetic-association study to determine whether PJI could be associated with functional cytokine gene polymorphisms (CGP) influencing on innate immunity response. A case–control design was utilized and previously published criteria for PJI were included to distinguish between cases and control subjects with/without TJA. Six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) located in the genes for interleukin-1beta (SNP: IL1B-511, +3962), tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-308, -238) and interleukin-6 (IL6-174, nt565) were genotyped in 303 Caucasian (Czech) patients with TJA (89 with PJI / 214 without PJI), and 168 unrelated healthy Czech individuals without TJA. The results showed that carriers of the less common IL1B−511*T allele were overrepresented in the group of TJA patients with PJI (69%) in comparison with those that did not develop PJI (51%, p = 0.006, p_corr = 0.037) and with healthy controls (55%, p = 0.04, p_corr = N.S.). There was no significant difference in the distribution of the remaining five investigated CGPs and their haplotypes between groups.

Conclusion

A functional variant of the gene encoding for IL-1beta was preliminarily nominated as a genetic factor contributing to the susceptibility to PJI. Our results should be independently replicated; studies on the functional relevance of IL1B gene variants in PJI are also needed.

Association of C1QB gene polymorphism with schizophrenia in Armenian population

Background

Schizophrenia is a complex, multifactorial psychiatric disorder. Our previous findings indicated that altered functional activity of the complement system, a major mediator of the immune response, is implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. In order to explore whether these alterations are genetically determined or not, in the present study we evaluated the possible association of complement C1Q component gene variants with susceptibility to schizophrenia in Armenian population, focusing on four frequent single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of C1QA and C1QB genes.

Methods

In the present study four SNPs of the complement C1Q component genes (C1QA: rs292001, C1QB rs291982, rs631090, rs913243) were investigated in schizophrenia-affected and healthy subjects. Unrelated Caucasian individuals of Armenian nationality, 225 schizophrenic patients and the same number of age- and sex-matched healthy subjects, were genotyped. Genotyping was performed using polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers (PCR-SSP) and quantitative real-time (qRT) PCR methods.

Results

While there was no association between C1QA rs292001, C1QB rs913243 and rs631090 genetic variants and schizophrenia, the C1QB rs291982*G minor allele was significantly overrepresented in schizophrenic patients (G allele frequency 58%) when compared to healthy subjects (46%, OR = 1.64, p_corr = 0.0008). Importantly, the susceptibility for schizophrenia was particularly associated with C1QB rs291982 GG genotype (OR = 2.5, p_corrected = 9.6E-5).

Conclusions

The results obtained suggest that C1QB gene may be considered as a relevant candidate gene for susceptibility to schizophrenia, and its rs291982*G minor allele might represent a risk factor for schizophrenia at least in Armenian population. Replication in other centers/populations is necessary to verify this conclusion.

Genetic variants of the inflammatory C-reactive protein and schizophrenia in Armenian population: a pilot study

C-reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammation marker implicated in the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. To investigate association of the CRP rs1417938, rs1800947, rs1205 variants with susceptibility to schizophrenia 208 unrelated Armenians (103 patients and 105 healthy controls) were genotyped. In this pilot study, none of studied variants was associated with schizophrenia.

Possible impact of MADCAM1 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms to the outcome of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation

Mucosal addressin cell adhesion molecule-1 (MAdCAM-1) contributes to the recruitment of donor T cells into the mucosal tissues of the recipient after allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (aHSCT). The aim of our study was to determine whether selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the MADCAM1 gene are associated with development of serious complications after aHSCT. Three MADCAM1 gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (rs758502 C/T, rs2302217 A/G, rs3745925 G/T) were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers in 87 Czech, HLA-identical donor-recipient aHSCT pairs. MADCAM1 rs2302217 AA homozygous recipients developed chronic GVHD more frequently than patients with other genotypes (65% vs. 34%; p = 0.025). Furthermore, multivariate analysis revealed the MADCAM1 rs2302217 AA genotype in recipient being also an independent factor associated with development of acute GVHD (p = 0.036) and decreased overall survival (p = 0.001). These data suggest that MADCAM1 gene polymorphisms may be associated with the risk of chronic GVHD and may, also, affect mortality related to aHSCT.