title: Transforming growth factor-beta 1 gene polymorphisms and cardiovascular disease in hemodialysis patients.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Atherosclerotic vascular disease is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with end-stage renal disease (ESRD) on maintenance hemodialysis (HD). Transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) is a multifunctional cytokine that inhibits the atheromatous process. We studied coding region polymorphisms of the TGF-beta1 gene (+869 T --> C at codon 10 and +915 G --> C at codon 25) as genetic susceptibility factors for prevalent vascular disease and cardiac outcomes in a cohort of HD patients enrolled in the HEMO Study.
  
  
  METHODS
  Genotyping was carried out using polymerase chain reaction-sequence specific primer (PCR-SSP) methods with a cytokine genotyping tray. Prevalent vascular disease was coded from the Index of Disease Severity (IDS) scores for ischemic heart disease (IHD), peripheral vascular disease (PVD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), and congestive heart failure (CHF), 0 indicating absence, and 1 to 3 increasing grades of severity. The presence of any vascular disease (VD) (i.e., any degree of IHD/PVD/CVD), and the number of coexistent vascular system diseases per patient were derived. Cardiac outcomes, one of the secondary outcomes of the HEMO Study, were expressed as a composite of the first hospitalization for, or death from, cardiac causes.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cohort consisted of 183 patients at enrollment, 56% male, 44% African American (AA), and 40% diabetic. The mean age was 62.4 +/- 12.2 years, and median dialysis vintage 2.02 years. The most frequent genotype at codon 10 was T/C (67%), and at codon 25 was G/G (72%). IHD was present in 52% of patients; 65% had at least one vascular system involvement, and 31% had 2 or more. On both univariate and multivariate analysis, the G/C genotype at codon 25 was significantly associated with the presence and extent of vascular disease at enrollment. The median time to cardiac outcome, defined as a composite of the first hospitalization for, or death from, cardiac causes, was 411 days in patients with the G/C genotype compared with 851 days in those with the G/G genotype (P= 0.03). Patients with the G/C genotype had a 1.6-fold increased hazard for cardiac outcomes after adjustment for baseline covariates (P= 0.04).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The G/C substitution at codon 25 was associated with an increased risk for prevalent vascular disease, new onset cardiac morbidity, and cardiac mortality in HD patients, and may be a genetic susceptibility factor for the development of atherosclerosis. Further studies are required to evaluate the role of TGF-beta1 as a candidate gene.
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology; and Division of Biostatistics and Clinical Care Research, Tufts-New England Medical Center, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
authors.forename: Madhumathi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rao
authors.forename: Daqing
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.forename: Bertrand L
authors.initials: BL
authors.lastname: Jaber
authors.forename: Hocine
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Tighiouart
authors.forename: Brian J G
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Pereira
authors.forename: Vaidyanathapuram S
authors.initials: VS
authors.lastname: Balakrishnan
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000628:therapy; D003062:Codon; D015331:Cohort Studies; D003596:Cytosine; D003643:Death; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006147:Guanine; D006760:Hospitalization / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D006435:Renal Dialysis; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta / Q000235:genetics*; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1
chemical_list: D003062:Codon; C508960:TGFB1 protein, human; D016212:Transforming Growth Factor beta; D053773:Transforming Growth Factor beta1; D006147:Guanine; D003596:Cytosine