Study of gene polymorphisms of the vitamin D system in patients with multiple sclerosis

Abstract

Studies have shown that the level of vitamin D and polymorphisms in the genes of the vitamin D system are factors associated with susceptibility to the development of multiple sclerosis. The purpose of this work was to investigate the frequency of six SNPs in the genes of the vitamin D system – VDR and GC – in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS, n=145) and in a population control group (CG, n=96). DNA, extracted from blood samples, was genotyped using real-time PCR. The frequency and spectrum of the investigated SNP combinations are discussed. The study identified 22 variant combinations of SNPs in the population control group and 15 variants in the MS patient group. The most common variant among MS patients was GCCCGC. Two variants were identified that occurred with varying frequencies – GCCCGA and GCCCAC. The results obtained support the data on the correlation of vitamin D system genes with the development of MS.