title: Caspase 8 gene variants in healthy North Indian population and comparison with worldwide ethnic group variations.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Many strategies are being used for the quest for the disease causing genes. Inter-individual variations in several genes exist. Thus, even if they share the same disease-associated allele, the genomic backgrounds - and hence potential interacting alleles at other loci - of people with different regional ancestries may differ, with a consequent variation in the severity of their disease.
  
  
  METHODS
  The present study was conducted to determine the distribution of Caspase 8 IVS12-19G/A, Caspase 8D302H, Caspase 8 -652del and Caspase 8 -678del polymorphisms (as frequency distribution of caspases in Indians generally is not yet known), which was then compared with different populations globally. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based analysis was conducted in 205 normal healthy individuals of similar ethnicity.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The variant allele frequencies were 17.6% (A) in Caspase 8 IVS12-19G/A, 13.2% (H) in Caspase 8D302H, 23.2% (Del) in Caspase 8 -652del and 24.6% (Del) in Caspase 8 -678del. Further, comparison of frequency distribution of these genes was done with various published studies of different ethnic groups globally.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  It is anticipated from our results that the frequency of these caspase genes exhibits distinctive patterns in India, which could perhaps be attributed to ethnic variation. This study is important as it can form a baseline for screening individuals who are at high risk due to exposure to environmental carcinogens and cancer predisposition, and therefore, might help in investigating linked polymorphisms in a way that will not obscure potential associations between genotype and phenotype.
authors.affiliation: Department of Urology and Renal Transplantation, Sanjay Gandhi Post Graduate Institute of Medical Sciences, Raebareli Road, Lucknow - 226 014, Uttar Pradesh, India.
authors.forename: Ginu P
authors.initials: GP
authors.lastname: George
authors.forename: Rama D
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Mittal