Endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphism in the Indian and Mestizo populations of Mexico.
Endothelium-derived nitric oxide (NO) is an important factor in vasodilation synthesized by endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS). A polymorphism (894 G to T) in exon 7 of the eNOS gene causes the conversion of Glu to Asp in position 298. The Glu298Asp polymorphism has been extensively associated with cardiovascular disease. We determined the Glu298Asp polymorphism frequency in healthy Mexican Mestizo, Huastec, Mayo, and Mayan populations by the endonuclease restriction method. The four populations analyzed were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Allele frequencies were similar among Mexican populations but different when compared with Caucasians. However, when compared with allele frequencies in Asian populations, Mestizo and Huastec allele frequencies were significantly different. Genotypically, only the Mestizos presented Asp298 homozygosity. The absence of double mutants in Indian populations resembles that in Asians. With these data, we conclude that the low frequency of the eNOS Glu298Asp polymorphism in Indian and Mestizo populations of Mexico is related to the Asian origin of Amerindian groups.
Rosas-Vargas
Haydeé
H
Unidad de Investigación Médica en Genética Humana, Hospital de Pediatría, Centro Médico Nacional Siglo XXI, México, D.F. México.
Flores-Segura
Adrián
A
Guizada-Claure
Boris
B
Vargas-Alarcón
Gilberto
G
Granados
Julio
J
Salamanca
Fabio
F
Coral-Vázquez
Ramón
R
D000483:Alleles; D004730:Endothelium, Vascular / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D006801:Humans; D007197:Indians, Central American / Q000235:genetics*; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase / Q000235:genetics*; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic
C496314:NOS3 protein, human; D019001:Nitric Oxide Synthase; D052250:Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III