title: Loss of heterozygosity of the NOS3 dinucleotide repeat marker in atherosclerotic plaques of human carotid arteries.
abstract: We have investigated 28 atherosclerotic plaques of human carotid arteries with a panel of 39 microsatellite markers for the presence of LOH. The objective of this research was to verify if LOH, described in association with tumorigenic process, could be involved also in benign fibroproliferative disease. Seventy percent of samples demonstrated allelic imbalance: 50% of cases showed LOH at a minimum of one locus, 3.5% at a minimum of two loci and 14.3% at three or more loci. The percentages of LOH ranged between 3.8 and 14.3% and the highest involved polymorphic marker is the NOS3 internal dinucleotide repeat. Our results indicate that, like tumorigenesis, the atherogenic process could also involve LOH mechanism. Furthermore, the finding regarding the NOS3 internal polymorphism suggests a possible role of the gene as cofactor in formation of the atheromas.
authors.affiliation: Cattedra di Genetica Umana, Dipartmento di Medicina, Chirurgia e Odontoiatria, Università degli Studi di Milano, Polo San Paolo, Italy. genetica.umana@unimi.it
authors.forename: F R
authors.initials: FR
authors.lastname: Grati
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Ghilardi
authors.forename: S M
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Sirchia
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Massaro
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Cassani
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Scorza
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: De Andreis
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Sironi
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Simoni
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D001161:Arteriosclerosis / Q000235:genetics*; D002343:Carotid Artery, Internal / Q000473:pathology*; D046508:Culture Techniques; D004276:DNA, Satellite / Q000235:genetics; D005819:Genetic Markers / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D019656:Loss of Heterozygosity; D018895:Microsatellite Repeats / Q000235:genetics*; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity
chemical_list: D004276:DNA, Satellite; D005819:Genetic Markers; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase