title: Association between the polymorphisms of the vascular endothelial growth factor gene and metabolic syndrome.
abstract: Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a major angiogenic factor. Increased levels of VEGF have been reported in patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS). The role ofVEGFpolymorphisms in MetS susceptibility, however, has not been reported previously. Thus, the present study was performed to analyze the associations between theVEGF-634G>C and 936C>T polymorphisms and the patients with MetS. A total of 320 patients with MetS (mean age, 49.86±11.76 years) and 320 healthy subjects (mean age, 50.94±8.43 years) were enrolled in the study. TheVEGF-634G>C polymorphism in the 5'-untranslated region (UTR) and 936C>T polymorphism in 3'-UTR were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. TheVEGF-634G>C polymorphism significantly affected MetS susceptibility. The CC genotype of the -634G>C polymorphism was significantly associated with an increased risk of MetS [adjusted odds ratio (AOR)=3.973; 95% confidence interval (CI), 2.321-6.799; P<0.0001]. AORs of the dominant (GG vs. GC+CC) and recessive models (GG+GC vs. CC) between the cases and controls were 2.569 (95% CI, 1.657-3.983; P<0.0001) and 2.163 (95% CI, 1.475-3.171; P=0.0001), respectively. Haplotypes of -634G>C and 936C>T were also associated with MetS susceptibility. When the haplotype data were stratified by gender, the association remained only in males. The -634G>C polymorphism was also associated with the subgroups of MetS risk components by the stratification analysis. The 936C>T polymorphism was, however, not associated with the MetS susceptibility. The present study demonstrates that theVEGF-634G>C polymorphism and haplotypes may be a genetic determinant for the MetS susceptibility. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study on the significant association of theVEGFpolymorphisms in MetS patients. To confirm the effects of theVEGFpolymorphisms on MetS, further functional and population studies are required.
authors.affiliation: Department of Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine, Jeju National University, Jeju 690-756, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Young Ree
authors.initials: YR
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Science Education, Teachers College, Jeju National University, Jeju 690-781, Republic of Korea.
authors.forename: Seung-Ho
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Hong
keywords: VEGF; metabolic syndrome; polymorphism