TNF-alpha promoter polymorphisms in multiple sclerosis: no association with -308 and -238 alleles, but the -857 alleles in associated with the disease in Turkish patients.

Yazan: admin Tarih: Şub 25th, 2010 | Kategori:: Multiple sclerosis

Akcali A, Pehlivan S, Pehlivan M, Sever T, Akgul P, Neyal M.

Department of Neurology, Gaziantep University School of Medicine, Gaziantep, Turkey.

Summary Dysregulation in the expression of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines is one of the milestones in multiple sclerosis (MS) development and progression. Tumour necrosis factor (TNF-alpha), a proinflammatory cytokine is believed to play an important role in MS pathogenesis. The objective of this study is to investigate the association between TNF-alpha promoter region (TNF-alpha-238, -308 and -857) and susceptibility to MS and clinical course of the disease. Eighty-six relapsing remitting MS patients and 150 sex-, age- and ethnic-matched controls were enrolled in the study. Genotyping was performed by PCR-RFLP method. We observed a statistically significant increase in TNF-alpha 857 CC genotype in MS patients than controls (P < 0.001) while TNF-alpha 857 CT genotype showed a significant negative correlation with MS patients (P = 0.033). No differences in the distribution of the TNF-alpha-238 and -308 alleles were observed. None of the three polymorphisms (-238, -308 and -857) did not show relation with disease duration, Expanded Disability Status Scale or age of onset. On the other hand, significant difference of TNF -857 CC genotype was identified with the low disease index (P = 0.025). Although the study group is small, the results indicate that TNF-alpha 857 CC genotype may cause susceptibility to MS in the Turkish population.


Cyp17 genetic polymorphism in prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia.

Yazan: admin Tarih: Ağu 10th, 2008 | Kategori:: Prostate cancer(Prostat Kanseri)

Res Commun Mol Pathol Pharmacol. 2003;113-114:307-14. Links

Department of Basic Oncology, Istanbul University, Oncology Institute 34390 Capa, Istanbul, Turkey.

Steroid hormones, especially androgens, are believed to play a key role in the etiology of prostate cancer. Therefore, polymorphisms in genes involved in the androgen metabolism may affect the risk of prostate cancer. One such gene is CYP17, which encodes the cytochrome P450c17alpha enzyme that mediates both 17alpha-hydroxylase and 17,20-lyase in the steroid biosynthesis pathway. A polymorphism in the 5′-promoter region of the CYP17 gene has been associated with increased risk for prostate cancer. The T to C transition in the risk allele creates a new recognition site for the restriction enzyme MspA1. In this study we investigated the distribution of this polymorphism in the Turkish population and its association with prostate cancer and benign prostatic hyperplasia. Genotype frequencies in the patients with prostate cancer or prostatic hyperplasia and the control group were not significantly different. Our data provide no evidence for an association between prostate cancer risk and the CYP17 gene polymorphism.


TYMS and DPYD polymorphisms in a Turkish population.

Yazan: admin Tarih: Ağu 6th, 2008 | Kategori:: Gene polymorphisms

Eur J Clin Pharmacol. 2005 Dec;61(12):881-5. Epub 2005 Nov 17.  

Department of Toxicology, Faculty of Pharmacy, Ankara University, 06100 Tandoğan, Ankara, Turkey. suzen@pharmacy.ankara.edu.tr

OBJECTIVE: The thymidylate synthase (TS) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPD) enzymes affect the outcome of 5-fluorouracil (5-FU)-based chemotherapy. Genetic polymorphisms of the thymidylate synthase (TYMS) and dihydropyrimidine dehydrogenase (DPYD) genes that may affect chemotherapy are described. The aim of this study was to determine the frequencies of TYMS and DPYD polymorphisms in healthy Turkish individuals. METHODS: Genotyping analyses of the promoter enhancer region of TYMS (TSER) and the exon 14-skipping mutation of the DPYD (DPYD*2A) genes were conducted in 250 unrelated, healthy volunteers from the central region of Turkey using a PCR-based assay. RESULTS: The distribution of the TSER*2/*2, *2/*3 and *3/*3 genotypes were 17.6%, 48.8%, and 33.6%, respectively. The frequencies of the TSER*2 and *3 alleles in the Turkish population were 0.42 and 0.58, respectively. No individuals with the variant DPYD*2A allele were identified in the study group. CONCLUSION: The frequency of the TSER*3 allele among members of the Turkish population was similar to frequencies observed in other Caucasian populations but was lower than those found in Japanese and Chinese populations.