Association between vitamin D receptor polymorphisms and haplotypes with pulmonary tuberculosis

Abstract

The vitamin D receptor (VDR) is an important factor in activating immune response in different infectious diseases. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between the <i>VDR</i> gene polymorphisms and pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB). The case control study was performed on 120 PTB patients and 131 healthy controls. Genetic analysis was performed by polymerase chain reaction and the restriction fragment length polymorphism method. The <i>VDR Fok1 Ff</i> genotype was associated with TB and the risk of PTB was two times higher in individuals with the <i>Ff</i> genotype. A higher frequency of <i>f</i> allele was observed in PTB patients and therefore, the <i>f</i> allele may be a risk factor for PTB susceptibility. There were no associations between the <i>Taq1</i> and <i>Bsm1</i> polymorphisms and PTB. In addition, haplotype analysis showed that the <i>f-T-B</i> and <i>f-t-b</i> haplotypes (<i>Fok1, Taq1</i> and <i>Bsm1</i>) may have the potential to increase PTB susceptibility. In conclusion, the <i>Ff</i> genotype and <i>f</i> allele of the <i>VDR Fok1</i> polymorphism were associated with PTB susceptibility. In addition, the <i>f-T-B</i> and <i>f-t-b</i> haplotypes may be the susceptible haplotypes for PTB.