Allele frequency of human endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene polymorphism in abdominal aortic aneurysm

Objective This study was performed to examine the role of the endothelial c onstitutive NO synthase (ecNOS) gene in patients with abdominal aortic aneu rysm (AAA), Methods We determined the distributions of polymorphism in intron 4 of the ecNOS (ecNOS4) gene, amplified by polymerase chain reaction, and compared t he allele frequencies between subjects with abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA s) and healthy individuals. Patients Fifty-eight patients with AAAs and 410 race-matched healthy contro ls were studied, Results Two alleles of the ecNOS4 gene, containing 4 (a-al lele) and 5 (b-allele) repeats, were identified. We found that the a-allele frequency of this gene was significantly higher in the surgical than in th e non-surgical group. Conclusion The results of this study suggest that the a-allele of the ecNOS 4 gene is indicative of the need for surgery for AAA, Analysis of the allel es of the ecNOS4 gene polymorphism could provide useful information concern ing the clinical course of AAA progression.