Background: Previous studies demonstrated that the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) was being implicated in the airways inflammation and remodeling process in patients with asthma.
Aims: We explored the relationship of three polymorphisms in the VEGF gene with asthma in both case control and family studies.
Methods: We Genotyped a total of 210 children with asthma, 224 unrelated controls and 160 parents for the +936 C >T (rs3025039), -634 G > C (rs2010963) and -2549 -2567 del 18 of the VEGF promoter region. The Mutations were identified with polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis for the +936 C > T, and -634 G > C polymorphisms.
Results: Of the three polymorphisms studied, a borderline association with asthma was found for the G allele in the -634 G > C polymorphism (p = 0.059). No Statistically significant differences were observed for both +936 C > T, and -2549 -2567 del 18 polymorphisms between asthmatic patients and controls, considering either allelic or genotypic frequencies. The distribution of genotypes according to the severity status revealed a significant differences for the +936 C > T, and -2549 -2567 del 18 polymorphisms. In addition, association was found with the haplotypes inferred by the three polymorphisms and asthma susceptibility.
Conclusion: We suggest that VEGF Gene polymorphisms can be implicated in asthma.
Keywords: VEGF; asthma; polymorphisms.