An investigation of the association of the prothrombin G20210A gene mutation and inflammatory bowel disease: Factor II and IBD

Background: A thrombotic etiology for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been proposed as a result of its association with thromboembolic complicati ons, smoking, the oral contraceptive pill, and the response of ulcerative c olitis (UC) patients to heparin. We have previously demonstrated an increas ed prevalence of the Factor V Leiden mutation in UC and wished to investiga te the frequency of the recently discovered prothrombin G20210A gene mutati on in IBD. The aim of the study was to investigate the hypothesis that the prothrombic state associated with the prothrombin G20210A gene mutation is involved in the etiology of IBD. Patients and Methods. A prospective cohort study of patients attending the Bristol Royal Infirmary and Gloucestershir e Royal Hospital's IBD clinics was performed. Thirty-nine patients with IBD (24 with Crohn's disease and 15 with LTC) and 100 historical controls were screened for the presence of the prothrombin gene mutation using a heterod uplex-based polymerase chain reaction technique, None of the patients with IBD had a personal history of thromboembolism. while three of them had a fa mily history. Results: No IBD patients had the prothrombin gene mutation co mpared with four (4%) controls (allelic frequency 2%). Conclusion: There do es not appear to be an association of the prothrombin gene mutation with IB D and therefore it is unlikely to he involved in the etiology of IBD.