Association of Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Polymorphisms with Asthma in Tunisian Children

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.