title: MTHFR C677T polymorphism in chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic adenocarcinoma.
abstract: Chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic adenocarcinoma are extensively studied as common and potentially lethal disorders. However, their causes and genetic background in most cases remain unclear. The C677T polymorphism in 5',10'-methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene may modulate the risk of pancreatic disorders. In this study, we tested whether MTHFR C677T polymorphism is associated with chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic adenocarcinoma in the Serbian population. DNA was extracted from blood samples of 51 chronic pancreatitis patients, 21 pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients, and a control group consisting of 50 healthy smokers. The MTHFR C677T polymorphism was analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) technique. Although, no statistically significant differences were observed in the distribution of MTHFR genotype or allele frequencies between patients and control groups, the results showed an increased frequency of homozygotes for MTHFR C677T polymorphism in chronic pancreatitis patients (14%) and a decreased frequency in pancreatic adenocarcinoma patients (5%) in comparison to the control group (8%). We speculate that the MTHFR C677T polymorphism could act as a possible risk factor for chronic pancreatitis and a possible protective factor in pancreatic adenocarcinoma. This observation needs further investigation in prospective studies on a larger number of patients, in which the effect of other genetic and environmental factors should also be taken into consideration.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Molecular Genetics and Genetic Engineering, Belgrade, Serbia.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Nisevic
authors.forename: Jelena
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dinic
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Nikolic
authors.forename: Valentina
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Djordjevic
authors.forename: Snezana
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lukic
authors.forename: Milenko
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ugljesic
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Andjelic-Jelic
authors.forename: Natasa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Petrovic-Stanojevic
authors.forename: Dragica
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Radojkovic
mesh_terms: D000230:Adenocarcinoma / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D042965:Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2) / Q000235:genetics*; D008875:Middle Aged; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010190:Pancreatic Neoplasms / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000235:genetics* / Q000473:pathology; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012307:Risk Factors
chemical_list: D042965:Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (NADPH2)