The prevalence of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase 677 C-T, factor V 1691 G-A, and prothrombin 20210 G-A mutations in healthy populations in Setif, Algeria.

The polymorphic mutation 677 C-T in the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) gene presents a heterogeneous worldwide distribution and is associated with different disorders such as cardiovascular disease. Its frequency shows great ethnic and geographic variations. The aim of this work is to determine the frequency of MTHFR 677 C-T and coexistence of MTHFR 677 C-T with 2 other common, hereditary thrombophilia causes-namely, factor V 1691 G-A and prothrombin (PT) 20210 G-A mutation-in the Sétif region of Algeria. The study involved 147 apparently healthy participants (82 men and 65 women). Genotyping was carried out by a real-time polymerase chain reaction. The MTHFR 677T carrier frequency was found to be 54.4% (80/147); 59 individuals were heterozygous (40.1%), and 21 were homozygous (14.3%). The frequency of MTHFR 677T was found to be 34.3%. Among the 147 individuals, 3 (2.0%) had factor V Leiden, and 5 (3.4%) had PT 20210 A mutation. Of the 80 participants with MTHFR 677T mutation, 2 had heterozygote factor V 1691 G-A gene mutation, and 4 had heterozygote PT 20210 G-A gene mutation. The results showed that MTHFR 677T prevalence is quite high: an allelic frequency of 34.3% with a genotype frequency of 14.3%. Factor V 1691 G-A and PT 20210 G-A gene mutations are rare in the healthy population of the Sétif region of Algeria.