MEFV mutations in Iranian Azeri Turkish patients with familial Mediterranean fever

Familial Mediterranean fever (FMF) is an autosomal recessive autoinflammatory disorder with more than 60 disease-associated mutations in the responsible gene, MEFV. In the present study, we determined 15 MEFV mutations in Iranian Azeri Turkish FMF patients. Five hundred and twenty-four unrelated patients were tested for 15 known mutations in the MEFV gene using amplification refractory mutation system-polymerase chain reaction and polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism methods. Thirty-five different genotypes were characterized among the studied patients. Of the alleles investigated, the most common mutation was p.M694V (42.4%), followed by p.V726A (17%), p.E148Q (16.2%), and p.M680I (c.2040G>C) (15.2%). The p.R761H mutation (4.7%) was found to be the most frequent among the rare mutations. The mutations p.M680I (c.2040G>A), p.I692del, p.M694del and p.K695R were not found in this cohort. The remaining mutations account for 7.7% of the identifiable mutations. Five different types of complex alleles were also identified. The results show the diversity and the frequency of the mutations in the Iranian Azeri Turkish FMF patients. The p.R761H mutation is rather prevalent in Azeri Turks; therefore, it should be included in the routine molecular diagnosis of FMF patients from this ethnic group.