Vitamin-D receptor (VDR) gene (Fok-I, Taq-I and Apa-I) polymorphisms in healthy individuals from north Indian population.

The vitamin-D endocrine system is involved in a wide variety of biological processes including bone metabolism, modulation of immune responses, and regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation. Variation in this endocrine system have, thus, been linked to several common diseases, including osteoarthritis (OA), diabetes, cancer, cardiovascular ailments, urolithiasis and tuberculosis. Activity of Vit-D is mediated by the vitamin D receptor (VDR), a ligand dependent receptor. VDR gene polymorphisms thus represent strong positional candidates for different diseases like prostate cancer, urolithiasis, inflammatory bowl disease and osteoporosis. Genetic studies provide excellent opportunities to link molecular insights with epidemiological data and can reveal modest and subtle but true biological effects. The abundance of polymorphisms in the human genome as well as high frequencies in human populations have made them targets to explain variation in risk of common diseases. The present study was carried out to determine the distribution of VDR gene (Fok-I, Taq-I and Apa-I) polymorphisms using a PCR-based restriction analysis in unrelated normal healthy individuals from a north Indian population. We obtained allelic frequencies of (68.5% vs 31.5%), (66% vs 34%) and (58% vs 42%) for (F vs f), (T vs t) and (A vs a) alleles, with 44%, 49% and 7%, respectively, for genotypes FF, Ff and ff , 49%, 40% and 11% for TT, Tt and tt and 36%, 44% and 20% for AA, Aa and aa. Our results suggest that the frequency and distribution of the polymorphisms in India are substantially different from in other populations and ethnic groups. Thus the data signify an impact of ethnicity and provide a basis for future epidemiological and clinical studies.