Associations between common 3435 C > T variants of the multi-drug resistance [MDR-1 (ABCB1)] gene and abdominal aortic aneurysm: a pilot study

Background: The aim of the study was to reveal the effect of the C3435T MDR-1 gene polymorphism in AAA, which has been postulated to play a role in the inflammatory process and protection against oxidative stress. Methods: In this study, we scanned the MDR gene polymorphisms in peripheral blood samples of the 58 patients (41 males, 17 females; mean age 62.9 +/- 6.6 years) whom were operated on after the diagnosis of AAA, and of the 58 healthy individuals (38 males, 20 females; mean age 58.8 +/- 11.6 years) have normally measured aorta diameters on abdominal computed tomography scan. Results: We found that MDR-1 C3435T gene CT variant (x(2)=5.80; p=0.016) and MDR-1 C3435T gene TT variant (x(2)=11.47; p=0.001) polymorphisms was statistically significant in AAA cases (p<0.05). The demographic findings were similar in each group. Conclusion: These obtained preliminary results suggest that the T allele polymorphism of the MDR-1 gene is associated with AAA. We belive that such molecular studies will blaze a trail for future studies on the understanding of AAA etiology.