Glu298Asp polymorphism of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene in Turkish patients with ischemic stroke

The low plasma nitric oxide concentrations and reduced vascular reactivity are considered major proatherogenic mechanisms in cardiovascular diseases. The present study aimed to assess the allelic frequency and the genotypic distribution of the Glu298Asp gene polymorphism at exon 7 of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene in Turkish ischemic stroke patients compared to appropriate healthy controls, and to correlate the genetic findings with stroke subtypes. The study population included 146 (75 males, 71 females) patients with ischemic stroke which were categorized according to the Trial of ORG 10172 in Acute Stroke Treatment (TOAST) and 133 (34 males, 99 females) healthy subjects. The eNOS polymorphism was identified with a PCR followed by RFLP with the restriction enzyme BanII. Genotypes were defined as GG, GT, and TT according to the presence of the G and T alleles. In this case-control study, we did not find any significant difference in either the genotypic distribution or allelic frequency of Glu298Asp gene polymorphism between the patients and the controls. In addition, there was also no significant difference for the genotype distribution and the allelic frequency among the stroke subtypes. The results suggested the lack of the association between the Glu298Asp gene polymorphism and ischemic stroke or subtypes of ischemic stroke in the Turkish population.