VITAMIN D RECEPTOR GENE POLYMORPHISM AND ITS ASSOCIATION WITH 1,25-DIHYDROXYVITAMIN D^sub 3^ IN PATIENTS WITH GRAVES DISEASE IN AN EGYPTIAN POPULATION: A PILOT STUDY

This research aims to study the association of vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene polymorphisms (BsmI, ApaI, and TaqI) with susceptibility to Graves disease (GD) in Egyptian patients and their correlation with serum levels of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D3). This research consisted of 90 patients with GD, with ages ranging from 25 years to 55 years. A control group of 55 healthy euthyroid subjects with matched ages were included in the study. Genotyping was performed by restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. Serum levels of 1,25(OH)2D3 were measured with use of radioimmunoassay in the patients and the control subjects. The distribution of genotype frequencies differed significantly between patients with GD and control subjects. The authors found overexpression of the VDR BsmI "bb", ApaI "aa", and TaqI "TT" genotypes in patients with GD in comparison with control subjects. In contrast, no correlation was observed with respect to the 1,25(OH)2D3 levels with BsmI, ApaI, and TaqI genotypes on the analysis of variance test.