Brief Articles
Copyright ©2009 The WJG Press and Baishideng. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Aug 7, 2009; 15(29): 3643-3648
Published online Aug 7, 2009. doi: 10.3748/wjg.15.3643
Association of Fas/Apo1 gene promoter (-670 A/G) polymorphism in Tunisian patients with IBD
Walid Ben Aleya, Imen Sfar, Leila Mouelhi, Houda Aouadi, Mouna Makhlouf, Salwa Ayed-Jendoubi, Samira Matri, Azza Filali, Taoufik Najjar, Taeib Ben Abdallah, Khaled Ayed, Yousr Gorgi
Walid Ben Aleya, Imen Sfar, Houda Aouadi, Mouna Makhlouf, Salwa Ayed-Jendoubi, Taeib Ben Abdallah, Khaled Ayed, Yousr Gorgi, Laboratory of Immunology, EPS Charles Nicolle, 1006 Bab Saadoun, Tunis 1006, Tunisia
Leila Mouelhi, Taoufik Najjar, Department of Gastroenterology, EPS Charles Nicolle, Tunis 1006, Tunisia
Samira Matri, Azza Filali, Department of Gastroenterology, La Rabta, Tunis 1006, Tunisia
Author contributions: Ben Aleya W, Sfar I, Aouadi H, Makhlouf M and Ayed-Jendoubi S performed the majority of experiments; Mouelhi L, Matri S, Filali A and Najjar T provided the collection of all the human material; Ben Abdallah T, Ayed K and Gorgi Y designed, supervised and provided financial support for this work; Ben Aleya W wrote the manuscript.
Correspondence to: Dr. Walid Ben Aleya, Laboratory of Immunology, EPS Charles Nicolle, Bd 9 Avril, 1006 Bab Saadoun, Tunis 1006, Tunisia. b_a_w@hotmail.fr
Telephone: +21-67-1578055
Fax: +21-67-1561156
Received: April 1, 2009
Revised: June 10, 2009
Accepted: June 17, 2009
Published online: August 7, 2009
Abstract

AIM: To detect a possible association between the polymorphism of the (-670 A/G) Fas/Apo1 gene promoter and susceptibility to Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) in the Tunisian population.

METHODS: The (-670 A/G) Fas polymorphism was analyzed in 105 patients with CD, 59 patients with UC, and 100 controls using the polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism method.

RESULTS: Significantly lower frequencies of the Fas -670 A allele and A/A homozygous individuals were observed in CD and UC patients when compared with controls. Analysis of (-670 A/G) Fas polymorphism with respect to sex in CD and UC showed a significant difference in A/A genotypes between female patients and controls (P corrected = 0.004 in CD patients and P corrected = 0.02 in UC patients, respectively). Analysis also showed a statistically significant association between genotype AA of the (-670 A/G) polymorphism and the ileum localization of the lesions (P corrected = 0.048) and between genotype GG and the colon localization (P corrected = 0.009). The analysis of inflammatory bowel disease patients according to clinical behavior revealed no difference.

CONCLUSION: Fas-670 polymorphism was associated with the development of CD and UC in the Tunisian population.

Keywords: Fas/Apo1; Gene polymorphisms; Inflammatory bowel disease; Crohn’s disease; Ulcerative colitis