Abstract
This study was carried out to study polymorphisms of the Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) gene at two locations of Acetobacter pasteurianus (ApaI) and Thermus aquaticus YTI (TaqI), and the serum level of vitamin D, to find out whether there is a correlation between polymorphisms and rheumatoid arthritis. Forty female rheumatic patients and 30 healthy controls were recruited in this study. The DNA was extracted from the blood samples, then the target part of the VDR gene was isolated and amplified by Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR), and then two enzymes were used, ApaI and TaqI, in order to digest the PCR products by Restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (RFLP) technique. The results showed that the distribution of genotype frequency of both ApaI and TaqI showed a non-significant difference between Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients and the control. None of the VDR gene polymorphisms displayed an association with RA, and no significant difference was found between the patients and control groups. In conclusion, there was no significant difference between VDR gene polymorphisms and RA in our samples of Saudi women. The serum vitamin D was also showed non-significant difference between the two groups (P= 0.1992). Copyright (C) 2013 - All Rights Reserved - Pharmacophore