Allele frequency of human endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphism in abdominal aortic aneurysm.

Abstract

This study was performed to examine the role of the endothelial constitutive NO synthase (ecNOS) gene in patients with abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA). We determined the distributions of polymorphism in intron 4 of the ecNOS (ecNOS4) gene, amplified by polymerase chain reaction, and compared the allele frequencies between subjects with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs) and healthy individuals. Fifty-eight patients with AAAs and 410 race-matched healthy controls were studied. Two alleles of the ecNOS4 gene, containing 4 (a-allele) and 5 (b-allele) repeats, were identified. We found that the a-allele frequency of this gene was significantly higher in the surgical than in the non-surgical group. The results of this study suggest that the a-allele of the ecNOS4 gene is indicative of the need for surgery for AAA. Analysis of the alleles of the ecNOS4 gene polymorphism could provide useful information concerning the clinical course of AAA progression.