title: Analysis of new lactotransferrin gene variants in a case-control study related to periodontal disease in dog.
abstract: The molecular and genetic research has contributed to a better understanding of the periodontal disease (PD) in humans and has shown that many genes play a role in the predisposition and progression of this complex disease. Variations in human lactotransferrin (LTF) gene appear to affect anti-microbial functions of this molecule, influencing the PD susceptibility. PD is also a major health problem in small animal practice, being the most common inflammatory disease found in dogs. Nevertheless, the research in genetic predisposition to PD is an unexplored subject in this species. This work aims to contribute to the characterization of the genetic basis of canine PD. In order to identify genetic variations and verify its association with PD, was performed a molecular analysis of LTF gene in a case-control approach, including 40 dogs in the PD cases group and 50 dogs in the control group. In this study were detected and characterized eight new single nucleotide variations in the dog LTF gene. Genotype and allele frequencies of these variations showed no statistically significant differences between the control and PD cases groups. Our data do not give evidence for the contribution of these LTF variations to the genetic background of canine PD. Nevertheless, the sequence variant L/15_g.411C > T leads to an aminoacid change (Proline to Leucine) and was predicted to be possibly damaging to the LTF protein. Further investigations would be of extreme value to clarify the biological importance of these new findings.
authors.affiliation: IBB/CGB-UTAD (Institute for Biotechnology and Bioengineering, Centre of Genomics and Biotechnology, University of Trás-os-Montes e Alto Douro), Quinta de Prados, P.O. Box 1013, 5001-801, Vila Real, Portugal. franciscomorinha@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Francisco
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Morinha
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Albuquerque
authors.forename: João
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Requicha
authors.forename: Isabel
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Dias
authors.forename: José
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Leitão
authors.forename: Ivo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Gut
authors.forename: Henrique
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guedes-Pinto
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Viegas
authors.forename: Estela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Bastos
mesh_terms: D000595:Amino Acid Sequence; D000818:Animals; D001483:Base Sequence; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000235:genetics*; D004285:Dogs; D005787:Gene Frequency / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D007781:Lactoferrin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics*; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D009711:Nucleotides / Q000235:genetics; D016017:Odds Ratio; D010510:Periodontal Diseases / Q000235:genetics / Q000662:veterinary*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / Q000235:genetics*; D017433:Protein Structure, Secondary
chemical_list: D009711:Nucleotides; D007781:Lactoferrin