Association of VNTR 27-bp polymorphism in intron 4 of the eNOS3 gene and predisposition to Ischemic Heart Disease among Taif population in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Genetic variation and polymorphism became a hot spot for researches to study the link between societies and certain endemic diseases. This study is an attempt to examine the possible association of the incidence of ischemic heart disease with the genetic variations of 27-bp variable number of tandem repeats located in intron 4 of the eNOS3 gene among Taif population. A case-control study included 81 Ischemic Heart Disease (IHD) patients and 225 unrelated healthy participants from the population living in Taif City. Genotyping of the candidate sequence 27-bp repeat located in intron 4 VNTR of the eNOS3 gene in was conducted using the polymerase chain reaction technology. The minor allele (4a) was slightly less frequent among IHD patients and insignificantly linked to reduced relative risk for IHD. In addition, a significant difference in the distribution of both heterozygous genotype 4a4b between IHD patients and normal groups (p value = 0.012). Presented data suggest that the heterozygous genotype of eNOS3 gene intron 4a4b VNTR variation is might be associated with lowering the risk of IHD in the Taif population in the west of Saudi Arabia. While the minor allele (a) of the eNOS3 gene is insignificantly related to the predisposition of IHD.

Keywords

• ischemic heart disease
• vntr 27-bp
• enos
• polymorphism
• genetic variation