Abstract
PURPOSE: The aim of this study was to investigate the association between two common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene (-460C/T and +405G/C) and polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) risk in south Indian women. METHODS: This study involves clinically confirmed PCOS patients (n = 126) and non-PCOS controls (n = 130) of south Indian origin (Dravidian linguistic group). Genotyping of the VEGF gene -460C/T and +405G/C SNPs were performed by PCR and sequencing analysis. Haplotype frequencies for multiple loci and the standardized disequilibrium coefficient (D') for pairwise linkage disequilibrium (LD) were assessed by Haploview Software. RESULTS: The frequencies of +405G/G genotype (P = 0.03) and +405G alleles (P = 0.006) were significantly higher in patients compared to controls. Whereas the genotype and allele frequencies of -460C/T SNP were not significantly different between patients and controls. In addition, LD analysis revealed no significant difference between patients and controls. CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the VEGF +405G/C polymorphism may constitute an inheritable risk factor for PCOS in south Indian women.