Relationship between the IL23R SNPs and Crohn's Disease Susceptibility and Phenotype in the Polish and Bosnian Populations: A Case-Control Study.

It is suggested that IL-23/IL-17 axis and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of IL23R may have crucial role in pathogenesis of Crohn's disease (CD). Thus, we sought to assess the IL23R SNPs contribution to susceptibility and phenotype of CD. We recruited 117 CD subjects and 117 controls from Poland and 30 CD subjects and 30 controls from Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H). Two common IL23R SNPs: rs1004819, rs7517847 were genotyped using TaqMan SNP assays. In the Polish population it was found that allele rs1004819: A increases the risk of CD, while allele rs7517847: A is protective against disease development. In Poles the co-carriage of two IL23R risk genotypes was associated with increased risk of CD. A significantly increased risk of CD early onset was observed in Poles carrying at least one rs7517847: G allele. It was also found that IL23R SNPs may be associated with structuring/penetrating CD behavior, as alleles rs1004819: A and rs7517847: G were significantly less frequent in patients without complications, from Poland and B&H, respectively. Allele rs1004819: A was also significantly more frequent in Poles with penetrating CD. These results confirm IL23R SNPs contribution to CD susceptibility in the Polish population and suggest their impact on early age of onset and more severe disease course.

ABCB1 3435C>T and 2677G>T/A polymorphisms in Polish and Bosnian patients with Crohn's disease - A preliminary report.

The role of ABCB1 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the development of Crohn's disease (CD) remains unclear. Due to inconsistent results of several European population-based studies and limited information on populations from Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina (B&H), we conducted a preliminary association study of two main ABCB1 SNPs and CD. ABCB1 3435C>T and 2677G>T/A SNPs were analyzed in Polish and Bosnian patients with CD (n = 85 and n = 30, respectively) and controls (n = 82 and n = 30, respectively) using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) for 3435C>T and allele-specific PCR for 2677G>A/T SNP. A deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium was found for both SNPs in Polish patients with CD, and for 2677G>A/T in Polish control group. The allele and genotype frequencies of the two ABCB1 SNPs were not significantly different between the CD patients and controls in both populations (p > 0.05). Similarly, the genotype distribution of 3435C>T and 2677G>T/A SNPs was not significantly different between Polish and Bosnian patients with CD (p > 0.05). At least one mutated ABCB1 allele was carried by 97.7% of Polish and 90.0% of Bosnian patients with CD. No association was found between the ABCB1 SNPs and CD in the two populations. In conclusion, the two ABCB1 SNPs may not contribute to CD susceptibility in the populations of Poland and B&H. Further studies with larger samples in both populations are warranted.

Prevalence of genetic prothrombotic risk factors: 1691G > A FV, 20210G > A PT and 677C > T MTHFR mutations in the Bosnian population.

BACKGROUND: Venous thrombosis (VT) affects 1-2 out of 10(3) individuals each year. Mutations of 1691G > A FV gene, 20210G > A PT gene and 677C > T gene MTHFR are common in Europe and increase the risk of venous thrombosis. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report on the prevalence of these mutations in the general population of Bosnia and Herzegovina. AIM: The aim of this study was to simultaneously analyse main VT associated polymorphisms and compare the results with those published for other European populations. DATA SOURCES: Electronic databases including Medline and Embase were searched from 1995 to December 2013. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: The subjects of the study consisted of 100 unrelated healthy people from Bosnia and Herzegovina (82 female and 18 male). The mean age of the cohort was 58.8 (± 10.7) years. PCR-RFLP was used for measurement of allele frequencies. RESULTS: All three SNPs were found to be polymorphic, with allele frequencies of 6.0%, 6.0% and 37.5% for 1691A FV, 20210A PT and 677T MTHFR, respectively. CONCLUSION: Further studies on larger cohorts with an adequate female-to-male ratio are necessary to confirm a high prevalence of hereditary thrombophilia in the Bosnian population.

Frequency of CCR5Δ32 allele in healthy Bosniak population.

Recent evidence has demonstrated the role of CCR5Δ32 in a variety of human diseases: from infectious and inflammatory diseases to cancer. Several studies have confirmed that genetic variants in chemokine receptor CCR5 gene are correlated with susceptibility and resistance to HIV infection. A 32-nucleotide deletion within the CCR5 reading frame is associated with decreased susceptibility to HIV acquisition and a slower progression to AIDS. Mean frequency of CCR5Δ32 allele in Europe is approximately 10%. The highest allele frequency is observed among Nordic populations (about 12%) and lower in the regions of Southeast Mediterranean (about 5%). Although the frequency of CCR5Δ32 was determined in numerous European populations, there is a lack of studies on this variant in the Bosnia and Hercegovina population. Therefore, the aim of our study was to assess the frequency of CCR5Δ32 allele in the cohort of Bosniaks and compare the results with European reports. CCR5Δ32 was detected by sequence-specific PCR in a sample of 100 healthy subjects from Bosnia and Herzegovina (DNA collected 2011-2013). Mean age of the cohort being 58.8 (± 10.7) years, with 82% of women. We identified 17 heterozygotes and one mutant homozygote in study group, with mean ∆32 allele frequency of 9.5%. CCR5∆32 allele frequency among Bosniaks is comparable to that found in Caucasian populations and follows the pattern of the north-southern gradient observed for Europe. Further studies on larger cohorts with adequate female-to-male ratio are necessary.