Hyperhomocysteinemia and the methylene tetrahydrofolate reductase C677T mutation in splanchnic vein thrombosis

Abstract

The role that hyperhomocysteinemia (HH) and the C677T mutation in 5,10-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) play in splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT) remains unclear due to this unusual thrombotic location. To analyse the possible association of HH with the C677T mutation in the MTHFR gene in SVT. We determined homocysteine levels and the C677T MTHFR mutation, along with classical cardiovascular risk factors, in 48 patients with SVT (18 Budd-Chiari syndrome, 11 mesenteric vein thrombosis, 19 portal vein thrombosis) and 84 controls. In the univariate analysis, patients with SVT showed statistically higher homocysteine levels (P =0.044). After adjusting for total cholesterol, differences disappeared (P =0.256). However, no differences in homocysteine levels were observed when comparing the three SVT types (P =0.199), even after adjusting for age and total cholesterol (P =0.095). In addition, the prevalence of the TT genotype was no different when controls were compared with patients with SVT (P =0.253) or with SVT subtypes (P =0.885). No association was found between HH (>15 μm) and the TT genotype in cases (P =0.404), controls (P =0.178), or in the different SVT subtypes (P =0.495). Our results suggest that HH and the homozygous genotype in the MTHFR C677T mutation do not seem to play a role in SVT development.