No Association of PTGDR −441C/T Polymorphism with Asthma in a North Indian Population

BACKGROUND Asthma is the most prevalent disease in India according to the national survey conducted by NFHS 2 in 1998-399. Prostaglandin D2 (PGD2) is a bronchoconstriction inducing metabolite of arachidonic acid in the mast cells, which is produced on exposure to allergens and acts as a ligand for the Prostaglandin D2 Receptor (PTGDR). Polymorphisms in the PTGDR gene have been suggested to be involved in the mechanism of asthma. OBJECTIVE This is the first study conducted in India, investigating the role of PTGDR -441C/T} promoter polymorphism in asthma pathogenesis. METHODS A case-control study was performed with a total of 992 subjects, including 410 adult asthmatics and 582 healthy controls from regions of North India. The PTGDR -441C/T polymorphism was genotyped by Tetra-Primer Amplification Refractory Mutation System Polymerase Chain Reaction (Tetra-Primer ARMS PCR). RESULTS Statistical analysis of the results between asthma cases and controls for the PTGDR −441C/T polymorphism showed Chi² (χ²) = 0.29, OR = 0.95, 95% CI (0.70-1.15) and p = 0.599. Neither the genotypic nor the allelic frequencies observed for the PTGDR −441C/T polymorphism, were significantly associated with asthma or asthma phenotypes. CONCLUSIONS The PTGDR -441C/T polymorphism is not associated with asthma or its phenotypes in the studied North Indian population.