Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), mainly ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD), are characterized by chronic and idiopathic inflammatory conditions of gastrointestinal tract that are immunologically mediated. Stromal cell-derived factor 1 (CXCL12) has been demonstrated to be involved in the pathophysiology of IBD.The aim of the study was to investigate whether the CXCL12 -G/A polymorphism (rs1801157) is associated to IBD in a sample of Polish population.
Material and methods: A total of 188 patients with IBD including 103 patients with CU and 72 patients with CD and 184 controls were enrolled in the study. Both groups came from the Polish population. The G/A polymorphism of CXCL12 was determined by PCR-RFLP analysis.
Results: There was no association between G/A polymorphism at position -801 promoter region of CXCL12 gene and increased risk of IBD. The study population was not found a difference in genotype distribution between the control group and with both CD and CU patients.
Conclusions: These results suggest that G/A polymorphism at position -801 promoter region of CXCL12 gene relates neither to the risk of the development of inflammatory bowel disease nor to the clinical subtypes of IBD in the Polish population. Whether this polymorphism truly contributes to disease susceptibility needs to be further addressed, and should stimulate additional studies in other populations.