ABSTRACT
Introduction: Co-inheritance of hereditary hemochromatosis (HFE) gene variants p. C282Y and p.H63D worsen iron overload in transfusion-dependent thalassemia. Data on the HFE gene variants in Sri Lankan patients with thalassemia have not been extensively studied. This study aimed to analyze the p.C282Y and p.H63D variants in transfusion-dependent beta (ß) and HbE/ß-thalassemia patients and establish an association between these variants and their serum ferritin levels. Materials and Methods: A total of 125 transfusion-dependent ß-thalassemia major and HbE/ß thalassemia patients were tested for the c.845G>A (p.C282Y) and c.187C>G (p.H63D) HFE gene variants using the multiplex Amplification Refractory Mutation System Polymerase Chain Reaction method. For phenotype-genotype correlation, serum ferritin levels, the erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR), and C-reactive protein (CRP) levels were measured. The standard descriptive statistics were used for data analysis. Results: The study cohort consisted of transfusion-dependent 123 ß-thalassemia and 2 HbE/ß-thalassemia patients. The p.C282Y variant was not detected in any patient; allele frequency for the wild type (c.845GG) was 100%. Twenty-three patients were heterozygous for the p.H63D variant allele, and the allele frequencies were c.187CC 91.8%, c.187CG 9.2%, and c.187GG 0%. The mean serum ferritin level was relatively higher (mean level 4,987 ng/ml) in the p.H63D heterozygous (c.187CG) group compared to the wild type (c.187CC) group (mean level 4,571 ng/ml), but the difference was statistically not significant (p = 0.865). Among the total study population, CRP, ESR, and serum glutamine aspartate transaminase (SGPT) were elevated in 9 (7.2%), 65 (52%), and 82 (65.6%) patients, respectively. Among the p.H63D c.187CG group, elevated CRP, ESR, and SGPT were present in 5 (5%), 15 (12%), and 18 (14.4%) patients, respectively. The detected sample number was low to correlate with the confounding effect of inflammatory disorders and liver damage on the serum ferritin levels. Conclusions: The HFE gene variant p.C282Y is unlikely to cause iron overload in the Asian ß-thalassemia patients; the rarity of this variant in the study cohort replicates the findings of other South Asian population studies of this variant. The presence of the p.H63D variant could be a potential risk factor for iron overload in the ß-thalassemia patients. A more extensive cohort study is required to validate this finding.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Thrombophilia is an enhanced tendency of arterial or venous blood clot formation. The frequently assessed hereditary thrombophilia mutations associated with stroke are methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) c.677C>T, Factor V (F5) c.1691G>A (Leiden), and prothrombin (F2) c.20210G>A. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of the 3 mutations in ischemic stroke patients in Sri Lanka. METHODS: A database of clinical details and genetic test results of stroke patients referred for thrombophilia screening from June 2006 to April 2014 was maintained prospectively and analyzed retrospectively. RESULTS: A total of 400 ischemic stroke patients (319 arterial, 66 venous, and 15 location unreported) were screened for hereditary thrombophilia. Patients with the MTHFR c.677C>T, F5 c.1691G>A, and F2 c.20210G>A mutations were 17.3%, 3.3%, and .5% of the total cohort, respectively. F5 mutation was present in a statistically significant number of patients with venous thrombosis (P = .005) compared to patients with arterial thrombosis. The MTFHR and F2 mutations showed no such significant association. The mean age of patients with MTHFR, F5, and F2 mutations was 29 (±15), 34 (±11), and 38 (±5.6) years, respectively. CONCLUSION: MTHFR c.677C>T is the predominant mutation and the only mutation that had patients with the homozygous mutant genotype. Venous thrombosis showed a significant association with the F5 c.1691G>A mutation.