title: Lack of association of the vascular endothelial growth factor gene polymorphisms with Kawasaki disease in Taiwanese children.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Kawasaki disease (KD) is an acute febrile vasculitis of unknown etiology that mainly occurs in infants and children. Clinical and histopathologic findings suggest that vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is involved in the coronary artery lesions (CALs) development in KD. This study hypothesized that specific VEGF gene polymorphisms and their haplotypes are associated with KD susceptibility and CAL development in Taiwanese children.
  
  
  METHODS
  The VEGF -2578 A/C, -634 G/C, and +936 C/T single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were genotyped in 156 children with KD and 672 ethnically matched healthy controls using the Pre-Developed TaqMan Allelic Discrimination Assay.
  
  
  RESULTS
  No significant differences in genotype, allele, carrier, and haplotype frequencies of the three SNPs were found between healthy controls and children with KD or between patients with and without CAL.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our data suggest that VEGF -2578 A/C, -634 G/C, and +936 C/T SNPs do not confer increased susceptibility to KD or to CAL development.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, Mackay Memorial Hospital, 45, Min-Sheng Rd., Tamshui 25115, Taipei, Taiwan.
authors.forename: Fu-Yuan
authors.initials: FY
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.forename: Tzu-Yang
authors.initials: TY
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Ming-Ren
authors.initials: MR
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hung-Chang
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: Hsin
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Chi
authors.forename: Nan-Chang
authors.initials: NC
authors.lastname: Chiu
authors.forename: Chyong-Hsin
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Shuan-Pei
authors.initials: SP
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Hsin-An
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Kao
authors.forename: Wei-Fang
authors.initials: WF
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Hui-Wen
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Hsin-Fu
authors.initials: HF
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.forename: Chen-Chung
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Chu
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.forename: Yann-Jinn
authors.initials: YJ
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000235:genetics; D005260:Female; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D009080:Mucocutaneous Lymph Node Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D013624:Taiwan; D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A / Q000235:genetics*
chemical_list: D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A