Objective: To determine whether cardiac troponin T gene (TNNT2, AY044273) is the virulence gene of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDCM) in a Chengdu population.
Methods: DNA were isolated from 96 hospitalized unrelated patients with IDCM and 110 healthy Chinese Han people who served as controls. The TNNT2 mutations including Arg131Trp, Arg141Trp, Arg205Leu, deltaLys210 and Asp270Asn were screened by polymerase chain reaction-single strand conformation polymorphisms (PCR-SSCP) and nucleotide sequence analysis.
Results: No mutation (Arg141Trp, Arg131Trp, Arg205Leu, deltaLys210, Asp270Asn) in TNNT2 was found in either the IDCM patients or the healthy people. The G9005C and C13350T polymorphism of the TNNT2 appeared in both the IDCM patients and the healthy people.
Conclusion: The IDCM patients in Chengdu have no TNNT2 mutation. Two polymorphisms, G9005C and C13350T, are identified, which are not associated with IDCM.