Abstract :
Vitamin D plays important roles not only in calcium homeostasis but also exhibits regulatory effects on the functions of the immune system cells that are associated with the pathophysiology of systemic lupus erythematosus and lupus nephritis. Moreover vitamin D binding protein (DBP) is also involved in various inflammatory processes. Studying the distribution of DBP gene polymorphisms rs 4586 and rs 7041 among Egyptian adults with lupus nephritis (LN). The study included 105 Egyptian adults with lupus nephritis and 100 healthy adult individuals as controls. Selected participants were subjected to comprehensive clinical evaluation and laboratory investigations including complete blood count, serum creatinine, C3, C4, urinary protein/creatinine ratio (UPCR) and anti-ds DNA titer. DBP allele distribution analysis for SNPs rs 4586 and rs 7041 using TaqMan genotyping assay by Real time PCR was done for all participants. There was no statistically significant difference between lupus nephritis patients and controls regarding DBP gene polymorphisms rs 4586 and rs 7041. The study reported no significant association between DBP gene polymorphisms rs 4586 and rs 7041 and any of the clinical variables. Haplotype combination of both DBP rs 4586 and rs 7041 genotypes showed no significant statistical difference between LN patients and controls. The pilot study revealed no statistically significant difference between LN patients and controls regarding the distribution of DBP gene polymorphisms rs 4586 and rs 7041. Additionally, there was no significant correlation between DBP gene polymorphisms rs 4586 and rs 7041 and any of the clinical variables in LN patients.
