The HHEX gene is not related to congenital heart disease in 296 Chinese patients.
BACKGROUND
The hematopoietically expressed homeobox (HHEX) gene is an important determinant of mammalian heart development. This study aimed to identify the potential mutations of the gene in Chinese patients with congenital heart disease (CHD).


METHODS
We collected 296 CHD patients and 200 controls, and classified the cardiac deformities. Then we conducted sequence analyses of the HHEX gene in those patients.


RESULTS
In all the CHD patients, we did not find any causative mutations in the coding region of the HHEX gene.


CONCLUSIONS
To our knowledge, this is the first study to examine the HHEX gene in non-symptomatic CHD cases, and this has expanded our knowledge about its etiology.
Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Shengjing Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang 110004, China.
Xiao-Peng
XP
Deng
Li-Xi
LX
Zhao
Bin-Bin
BB
Wang
Jing
J
Wang
Long-Fei
LF
Cheng
Zhi
Z
Cheng
Pei-Su
PS
Suo
Hui
H
Li
Xu
X
Ma
D044466:Asian People; D002648:Child; D006330:Heart Defects, Congenital / Q000235:genetics*; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D009154:Mutation; D014157:Transcription Factors / Q000235:genetics*
C078492:HHEX protein, human; D018398:Homeodomain Proteins; D014157:Transcription Factors