Y. Asakimori et al., Endothelial nitric oxide synthase intron 4 polymorphism influences the progression of renal disease, NEPHRON, 89(2), 2001, pp. 219-223
Background/Aim: Nitric oxide is a potent regulator of intrarenal hemodynami
cs and may influence the renal function. We investigated whether polymorphi
sm of intron 4 of the endothelial constitutive nitric oxide synthase (ecNOS
) gene is related to the progression of chronic renal failure. Methods: Pol
ymorphism of ecNOS intron 4 was studied in 1,005 hemodialysis patients (710
with nondiabetic nephropathy and 295 with diabetic nephropathy) and was co
mpared with the findings in 189 healthy subjects. ecNOS genotypes were dete
rmined by the polymerase chain reaction, followed by agarose gel electropho
resis. Results: The frequencies of ecNOS4a/a, ecNOS4a/b, and ecNOS4b/b geno
types were, respectively, 0% (0/189), 13.8% (26/189), and 86.2% (163/189) i
n the control group; 1.7% (12/710), 22.1% (157/710), and 76.2% (541/710) in
the nondiabetic nephropathy group, and 1.0% (3/295), 22.7% (67/295), and 7
6.3% (225/295) in the diabetic nephropathy group. The frequency of ecNOS4a
(ecNOSa/a and ecNOSa/b) was significantly higher in both the nondiabetic gr
oup and in the diabetic group than in the controls (p = 0.0025 and p = 0.04
38, respectively). Conclusion: There was a significantly higher frequency o
f the a allele of intron 4 in both nondiabetic and diabetic hemodialysis pa
tients, so the polymorphism of intron 4 of the ecNOS gene may have a wide i
nfluence on the progression of renal disease. Copyright (C) 2001 S. Karger
AG, Basel.