Elsevier

Pancreatology

Volume 7, Issues 2–3, July 2007, Pages 180-186
Pancreatology

Functional Polymorphisms of the GSTT-1 Gene Do Not Predict the Severity of Acute Pancreatitis in the United States

https://doi.org/10.1159/000104243Get rights and content

Abstract

Background/Aim: Acute pancreatitis (AP) is an inflammatory response to pancreatic injury that is clinically classified as mild AP or severe AP, depending on specific criteria. Rahman and colleagues [Gastroenterology 2004; 126:1312-1322] reported that genetic variation in the glutathione S-transferase theta-1 gene (G5TT-1) is associated with susceptibility and severity of AP in England. Our aim was to determine whether the same G5TT-1 polymorphism affects the severity of AP in a population from Pittsburgh, Pa., USA. Methods: Ninety-one consecutive patients with AP (19 severe) were prospectively evaluated. The GSTT-1 haplotypes were determined by PCR amplification in all patients and 268 controls. The resulting genotypes were classified as functional (GSTT-1A/AorA/null) and nonfunctional (GSTT-1 null/null) phenotypes. Results: The relative frequencies of functional GSTT-1 phenotypes were similar in subjects with severe AP (15 of 19, 78.9%) and mild AP (61 of 72, 84.7%; p = 0.54) and in the controls (228 of 268, 85.1%; p = 0.66). Furthermore, the GSTT-1 functional and nonfunctional phenotypes were not associated with serum C-reactive protein levels (11.9 vs. 7.3 mg/dl; p = 0.19), interleukin-6 levels (74 vs. 60 pg/ml; p = 0.9), APACHE II scores (7 vs. 9; p = 0.26), or 48-hour Ranson scores (1 vs. 1; p = 0.63). Conclusion: Functional GSTT-1 phenotypes do not correlate with susceptibility to AP or severity of AP in Our patient population.

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      The association of genetic variants with a disease, including pancreatitis, might occasionally not be the case in other ethnic groups, and this is also in the case in pancreatitis. For example, genetic variation in the glutathione S-transferase theta-1 gene was associated with susceptibility to AP and disease severity in a British population [30], but such an association was not found in another study of individuals in the United States [31]. The Leu26Val mutation in the cathepsin B gene was reported to be associated with tropical calcifying pancreatitis in patients from southern India [32], but the association was not observed in patients with idiopathic chronic pancreatitis in European populations [33].

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    David Whitcomb, MD, PhD Mezzanine 2, C-Wing/PUH 200 Lothrop Street Pittsburgh, PA 15213 (USA) Tel. +1 412 648 9604, Fax +1 412 383 7236

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