Association of the single-nucleotide polymorphism and haplotype of the P-selectin gene with ischemic stroke.

Inflammation has recently proven to be associated with the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis and inflammatory genes are good candidates for the risk of developing atherosclerosis. The early phase of atherosclerosis involves the recruitment of inflammatory cells from the circulation and their transendothelial migration. This process is mainly mediated by cellular adhesion molecules. The adhesion molecule P-selectin may play a role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. Polymorphism of P-selectin gene, which may affect the production level of the adhesion molecule, has been associated with a number of atherosclerotic disease. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the relationship of P-selectin gene polymorphisms and ischemic stroke in a Chinese population. We analyzed single nucleotide polymorphisms of P-selectin gene -2,123 G/C, -1,969 G/A, -1,817 T/C and Thr715Pro in three hundred and five patients with ischemic stroke and 280 age and sex matched controls, using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) and DNA sequencing method. There were no significant differences in the genotype, allele and haplotype frequencies of P-selectin gene polymorphisms between the group of patients with ischemic stroke and the control group. Furthermore, there was no significant association of genotype, allele and haplotype at any of the polymorphism in relation to any subtype of ischemic stroke. We did not observe an association between P-selectin gene polymorphisms and ischemic stroke or any subtype of ischemic stroke. However, further studies are needed to explore the complex interaction between environmental factors and P-selectin gene polymorphisms in the risk of ischemic stroke, particularly in ethnically different populations.