The nitric oxide synthase 3 gene polymorphisms and their association with deep vein thrombosis in Asian Indian patients

BackgroundEndothelium derived nitric oxide is formed from l-arginine by endothelial nitric oxide synthase encoded by the nitric oxide synthase 3 (NOS3) gene. Nitric oxide possesses a variety of protective effects on endothelial cells and therefore NOS3 is a logical candidate gene to be investigated for the susceptibility of deep vein thrombosis (DVT).MethodsOne hundred consecutive patients (M: F = 56:44) with idiopathic deep vein thrombosis and an equal number of age and sex matched healthy controls were the study subjects. All study subjects were typed for five NOS3 polymorphisms (− 786C/T, − 922A/G, 894G/T, Intron 4 VNTR, and Intron 23 G10T).ResultsTwo polymorphisms (− 922A/G and 894G/T) are showing their association with DVT. − 922A/G shows both genotypic (P = 0.0218; χ2 = 5.25; O.R = 1.94) as well as allelic association (P = 0.0014; χ2 = 10.19; O.R = 2.0) while 894G/T shows only allelic (P = 0.04; χ2 = 3.93; O.R = 3.93) association with DVT.ConclusionSusceptibility to DVT in North Indian Asian patients may be associated with some variants of NOS3 gene.