The role of COX-2 gene variants on the disease mechanism of inflammatory bowel disease in a Turkish population

Abstract

Aim: Inflammatory bowel disease has two major types: Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis that occur in the gastrointestinal tract with unknown etiology. COX-2 has important role on carcinogenesis process including colon cancer supporting the tumor growth. COX-2 was also known due to its ability to change homeostasis on colonic mucosa in inflammatory cells on patients who have inflammatory bowel disease. In this study, we have aimed to find a linkage between inflammatory bowel disease and COX-2 in a Turkish population. Methods:A total of 106 patients,42 with Crohn's disease and 64 with ulcerative colitis and 121 healthy control subjects were included the study. Gene variants of COX-2-765G→C and COX-2-1195A→G were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism techniques. Results: The results demonstrated that COX-2-1195A→G gene variants AA carriers were statistically found in high level on patients with both ulcerative colitis (p=0.001) and Crohn's disease (p=0.008). In contrast, AG genotype and G carriers were statistically found higher in control group (Crohn's disease, p=0.005 for AG and p= 0.008 for G; ulcerative colitis, p=0.001 for AG and p=0.001 for G). Conclusion: In this research, we have observed important and questionable results between inflammatory bowel disease and COX-2, especially COX-2-1195A→G gene variants AA carriers in a Turkish population. Researches need to focus on their local roles on inflammatory bowel disease pathogenesis with large sample size.