Correlation between inducible nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphism and ischemic stroke in Chinese Han population

Abstract

Objective To investigate the correlation between inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) gene polymorphism and ischemic stroke in Chinese Han population. Methods Patients with first-ever stroke and the age-and sex-matched healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Taqman probe fluorescence quantitative polymerase chain reaction technique was used to detect the genotype distribution of rs2779248 C/T and rs1137933 C/T polymorphisms. Results A total of 246 patients with ischemic stroke and 246 controls were enrolled. The distribution frequencies of rs2779248 CC, CT and TT genotypes in the patient group were 57.7%, 36.6%, and 5.7%, respectively, and in the control group were 68.7%, 28.0%, and 3.3%, respectively. The T allele frequency of the patient group was significantly higher than that of the control group (24.0% vs. 17.3%; P=0.015). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for the risk factors including age, sex, hypertension, and diabetes, the risk of ischemic stroke in the CT+ TT genotype carriers was 1.64 times of the CC genotype carriers (odds ratio 1.64, 95% confidence interval 1.07-2.51; P=0.022). The distribution frequencies of rs1137933 CC, CT and TT in the patient group were 58.1%, 37.8%, and 4.1%, respectively and in the control group were 68.3%, 29.3%, and 2.4%, respectively. The T allele frequency of the patient group was significantly higher than that of the control group (23.0% vs. 17.1%; P=0.013). Multivariate logistic regression analysis showed that after adjusting for traditional risk factors, the risk of ischemic stroke of patients with the TT+ CT genotype carriers was 1.60 times of the CC genotype carriers (odds ratio 1.60, 95% confidence interval 1.05-2.46; P=0.030). Conclusions The rs2779248 C/T and rs1137933 C/T polymorphisms in iNOS gene may be associated with the risk of onset of ischemic stroke in Chinese Han population. Key words: Stroke; Brain Ischemia; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type Ⅱ; Polymorphism, Genetic; Risk Factors