title: No association of vitamin D-binding protein gene polymorphisms in Japanese patients with MS.
abstract: Vitamin D-binding protein (DBP) is known to function as an immunomodulatory factor, as well as the main carrier of vitamin D. We analyzed the frequencies of two polymorphisms (codon 416 and codon 420) in the DBP gene through a case-control study involving 107 Japanese patients with multiple sclerosis (MS) and 109 healthy controls. None of these polymorphisms showed any association with the occurrence of MS. Furthermore, no association was observed between the DBP polymorphisms and the age at disease onset. These results suggest that DBP does not contribute to the development of MS in Japanese.
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Kita-15 Nishi-7, Kita-ku, Sapporo 060-8638, Japan. niino@med.hokudai.ac.jp
authors.forename: Masaaki
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Niino
authors.forename: Seiji
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Kikuchi
authors.forename: Toshiyuki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Fukazawa
authors.forename: Ichiro
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Yabe
authors.forename: Kunio
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tashiro
mesh_terms: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic / Q000235:genetics*; D000328:Adult; D017668:Age of Onset; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007564:Japan; D008297:Male; D009103:Multiple Sclerosis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D010641:Phenotype; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D014809:Vitamin D-Binding Protein / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D000276:Adjuvants, Immunologic; D014809:Vitamin D-Binding Protein