Deletion Polymorphism of Glutathione S-transferases M1 and T1 genes in the Sudanese Population

Abstract

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) play a major role in the detoxification of various compounds. Polymorphic variants in GST genes were reported for different populations. The main objective of this study was to determine the frequencies of GSTM1 and GSTT1 null genotypes in the Sudanese population. GST genotyping was carried out using multiplex PCR. Study population included 114 unrelated healthy Sudanese subjects. The results showed that the prevalence of GSTM1 and GSTT1 deletion homozygosity among Sudanese were 54.7% and 42.1%, respectively. There are no significant differences in allelic distribution of GSTM1 gene between the Sudanese and other ethnic groups except for sub-Saharan Africans. As regards the allelic distribution of GSTT1 genes, the Sudanese population is similar to sub-Saharan Africans but significantly different from Europeans. Combined analysis of both genes revealed that 24.6% of Sudanese harbor the deleted genotype of both genes and it is the highest reported so far for an Arab and African population. This is the first study that addresses deletion polymorphism of GST genes in Sudanese. We provide a reference database of allelic frequencies of the GSTM1 and GSTT1 genotypes among Sudanese.