ASSOCIATION BETWEEN POLYMORPHISMS IN THE FIBRINOGEN ALPHA-GENES AND BETA-GENES ON THE POSTTRAUMA FIBRINOGEN INCREASE

Fibrinogen is an acute phase reactant, and therefore its plasma levels increase after severe injury. Polymorphisms in the fibrinogen alpha a nd beta genes have been found to be associated with plasma levels of f ibrinogen, and it has also been suggested that they are associated wit h the fibrinogen increase in acute phase situations. In forty-five con secutive patients admitted to the Intensive Care Unit after acute cran ial or thoracic trauma, we investigated the influence of four polymorp hisms at the fibrinogen loci (-455G/A and BclI (beta gene), TaqI and T /A312 (alpha gene)) on the post-trauma increase of the fibrinogen leve ls. At admission, fibrinogen levels were comparable in the patients wi th the different genotypes for the four polymorphisms studied. However , patients carrying the -455A allele of the -455G/A polymorphism had a significantly wider variation and higher peak levels of fibrinogen, d uring their stay at the intensive care unit, than did the -455GA homoz ygotes (5.1 g/l (SD 1.3) and 5.9 g/l (SD 1.0), respectively, p<0.05). Such difference was not found for the other studied polymorphisms, The present study suggests that the increase of fibrinogen level in acute phase situations like severe trauma is associated with the beta-gene -455G/A polymorphism. (C) 1998 Elsevier Science Ltd.