Lack of association of the vascular endothelial growth factor gene polymorphisms with Kawasaki disease in Taiwanese children.
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.
Huang
Fu-Yuan
FY
Department of Pediatrics, Mackay Memorial Hospital, 45, Min-Sheng Rd., Tamshui 25115, Taipei, Taiwan.
Chang
Tzu-Yang
TY
Chen
Ming-Ren
MR
Lee
Hung-Chang
HC
Chi
Hsin
H
Chiu
Nan-Chang
NC
Hsu
Chyong-Hsin
CH
Lin
Shuan-Pei
SP
Kao
Hsin-An
HA
Chen
Wei-Fang
WF
Chan
Hui-Wen
HW
Liu
Hsin-Fu
HF
Chu
Chen-Chung
CC
Lin
Marie
M
Lee
Yann-Jinn
YJ
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*
D042461:Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor A