title: Reliable and rapid characterization of functional FCN2 gene variants reveals diverse geographical patterns.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Ficolin-2 coded by FCN2 gene is a soluble serum protein and an innate immune recognition element of the complement system. FCN2 gene polymorphisms reveal distinct geographical patterns and are documented to alter serum ficolin levels and modulate disease susceptibility.
  
  
  METHODS
  We employed a real-time PCR based on Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) method to genotype four functional SNPs including -986 G > A (#rs3124952), -602 G > A (#rs3124953), -4A > G (#rs17514136) and +6424 G > T (#rs7851696) in the ficolin-2 (FCN2) gene. We characterized the FCN2 variants in individuals representing Brazilian (n = 176), Nigerian (n = 180), Vietnamese (n = 172) and European Caucasian ethnicity (n = 165).
  
  
  RESULTS
  We observed that the genotype distribution of three functional SNP variants (-986 G > A, -602 G > A and -4A > G) differ significantly between the populations investigated (p < 0.0001). The SNP variants were highly linked to each other and revealed significant population patterns. Also the distribution of haplotypes revealed distinct geographical patterns (p < 0.0001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The observed distribution of the FCN2 functional SNP variants may likely contribute to altered serum ficolin levels and this may depend on the different disease settings in world populations. To conclude, the use of FRET based real-time PCR especially for FCN2 gene will benefit a larger scientific community who extensively depend on rapid, reliable method for FCN2 genotyping.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Tropical Medicine, University of Tübingen, Germany.
authors.forename: Olusola
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Ojurongbe
authors.forename: Eman Abou
authors.initials: EA
authors.lastname: Ouf
authors.forename: Hoang
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Van Tong
authors.forename: Nguyen L
authors.initials: NL
authors.lastname: Toan
authors.forename: Le H
authors.initials: le H
authors.lastname: Song
authors.forename: Paola R
authors.initials: PR
authors.lastname: Luz
authors.forename: Iara J T
authors.initials: IJ
authors.lastname: Messias-Reason
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Nurjadi
authors.forename: Philipp
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Zanger
authors.forename: Jürgen F J
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Kun
authors.forename: Peter G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Kremsner
authors.forename: Thirumalaisamy P
authors.initials: TP
authors.lastname: Velavan
mesh_terms: D044466:Asian People / Q000235:genetics; D044383:Black People / Q000235:genetics; D031541:Fluorescence Resonance Energy Transfer / Q000379:methods; D014644:Genetic Variation; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics; D006801:Humans; D037102:Lectins / Q000097:blood / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D060888:Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods; D044465:White People / Q000235:genetics; D000097604:Ficolins
chemical_list: D037102:Lectins; D000097604:Ficolins