Influence of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms on C-Reactive Protein Levels in Chronic Kidney Disease Before and After Kidney Transplantation

IntroductionWe sought to evaluate 2 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the C-reactive protein (CRP) gene promoter region for their effects on CRP levels in chronic kidney disease (CKD) patients before and after a successful kidney transplantation.MethodsFifty CKD patients were evaluated before and at the first and second years after the graft. Two SNPs were studied, a bi-allelic (G→A) at the −409 and a tri-allelic (C→T→A) variation at the −390 position in the CRP gene.ResultsAll patients presented the −409GG genotype. At the −390 position, the “A” allele was not found; there were 15 “CC” patients, 11 “TT” patients, and 24 “CT” patients. CRP levels were different among patients with various genotypes (P < .019). Also the presence of the allele “T” was sufficient to determine differences in CRP levels both in pretransplantation (P = .045) and at 1 year posttransplantation (P = .011), but not at the second year (P = .448).ConclusionSNPs at the −390 position of the CRP gene promoter region influence CRP basal levels in such a way that the “C” allele correlated with the lowest and the “T” with the highest. We did not observe this influence in our patients at the second year posttransplantation.