Association between NLPR1, NLPR3, and P2X7R Gene Polymorphisms with Partial Seizures

Objectives. Clinical and experimental evidence has clarified that the inflammatory processes within the brain play a pivotal role in the pathophysiology of seizures and epilepsy. Inflammasomes and P2X7 purinergic receptor (P2X7R) are important mediators during the inflammatory process. Therefore, we investigated the possible association between partial seizures and inflammasomes NLPR1, NLRP3, and P2X7R gene polymorphisms in the present study. Method. A total of 163 patients and 201 health controls were enrolled in this study and polymorphisms of NLPR1, NLRP3, and P2X7R genes were detected using polymerase chain reaction- (PCR-) ligase detection reaction method. Result. The frequency of rs878329 (G>C) genotype with C (CG + CC) was significantly lower among patients with partial seizures relative to controls (OR = 2.033, 95% CI = 1.290-3.204, p = 0.002 for GC + CC versus GG). Intriguingly, we found that the significant difference of rs878329 (G>C) genotype and allele frequency only existed among males (OR = 2.542, 95% CI = 1.344-4.810, p = 0.004 for GC + CC versus GG), while there was no statistically significant difference among females. However, no significant results were presented for the genotype distributions of rs8079034, rs4612666, rs10754558, rs2027432, rs3751143, and rs208294 polymorphisms between patients and controls. Conclusion. Our study demonstrated the potentially significant role of NLRP1 rs878329 (G>C) in developing susceptibility to the partial seizures in a Chinese Han population.