Evaluation of Promoter Methylation Pattern of the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor (VEGF) Gene in Metabolic Syndrome Patients of East Azerbaijan Province

Abstract

Background and Aim: Metabolic syndrome (MS) was committed multiple disorders including diabetes, hypertension, and obesity, which were played influential effects on the mortality rates of patients suffering from of cardiovascular disorders. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a protein that stimulates vascular and angiogenesis. One of the most common epigenetic changes is methylation of the promoter regions of genes, which leads to the regulation of gene expression. We aimed to assess the methylation pattern of promoter regions of VEGF gene which may act a critical role in the pathogenesis of MS. Materials and Methods: In this descriptive-analytical investigation, we have assessed a total of 100 subjects, which were included 50 of cases diagnosed as MS and 50 healthy individuals as a control group. Methyl specific polymerase chain reaction (MS–PCR) method was performed to analyzing of VEGF gene promoter methylatin patterns and data analysis was performed using Chi Square test and SPSS 23 software. Findings: The frequencies of VEGF gene promoter methylation observed in 32% and 20% of case and control individuals, respectively. Our findings revealed that the frequencies of the gene methylated were not statistically different between two groups (p=0.239). In other hand, our findings revealed a statistically significant difference regarding to the clinical parametrics including, triglycired (p=0.050), cholesterol (p=0.046), suger blood (p=0.025) and HbA1C (p=0.016) between cases and control groups (p=0.05). Conclusion: According to our findings, methylation alteration in VEGF gene did not show any critical role in the pathogenesis of MS and it is suggested that more evidence will be needed to approve the present results.

Keywords

• VEGF gene
• Promoter methylation
• Metabolic syndrome
• Vascular endothelial growth factor