title: The prevalence of platelet activating factor acetylhydrolase single nucleotide polymorphisms in relationship to necrotizing enterocolitis in Northwest Louisiana infants.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Studies documented that platelet activating factor (PAF) and the enzyme platelet activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAFAH) play a very important role in the pathogenesis of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC). In this retrospective, case-controlled pilot study, the authors investigated the prevalence of single nucleotide polymorphisms (Ile198Thr and Ala379Val) of the PAFAH gene.
  
  
  METHODS
  We screened 570 blood samples from both Caucasian and African-American preterm infants in the Northwest Louisiana population for the above mentioned PAFAH gene polymorphisms. Out of 570 infants, 36 had stage I or II NEC based on diagnostic coding, the International Classification of Diseases, 9th revision, Clinical Modification, 2009 (ICD-9-CM). The remaining infants without an ICD-9-CM diagnosis of NEC were recruited as control population. The DNA was isolated and restriction fragment length polymorphism microplate polymerase chain reaction assay was performed.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Variants of the PAFAH gene polymorphism (Ile198Thr and Ala379Val) frequencies were not significantly different between the infants with NEC and the control group (P value of 0.26 by either multiple logistic regression analysis or the Cochran-Mantel-Haenszel test).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This is the first study of its kind in exploring the relationship between NEC and single nucleotide polymorphisms in the coding genes of the enzyme PAFAH. Our preliminary data demonstrated that adjusted for the effect of race, PAFAH polymorphisms (Ile198Thr and Ala379Val) have no significant effect on NEC.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics (Neonatology division), University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis, TN 38163 USA.
authors.forename: Senthilkumar
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sankararaman
authors.forename: Krishna
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Yanamandra
authors.forename: Dawn
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Napper
authors.forename: Gloria
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Caldito
authors.forename: Ramasubbareddy
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Dhanireddy
keywords: Necrotizing enterocolitis; Neonates; PAF; PAF acetylhydrolase; PAFAH; Platelet activating factor; Preterm; Single nucleotide polymorphisms