Sell S M, Blasi F, Booyse F
Department of Nutrition Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham 35294, USA.
Genet Test. 2000;4(3):305-7. doi: 10.1089/10906570050501551.
The urokinase-type plasminogen activator (u-PA) has been suggested to play a role in the early initiation and progression of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease (CAD) (Grenett et aL, 1998). Recently, a common genetic polymorphism in the untranslated region of the u-PA gene was shown to be associated with syptomatic CAD. To study the possible role of this common genetic polymorphism in the u-PA gene, we have developed an automated, PCR-based assay. Automation of the PCR-RFLP genotyping of the BamHI polymorphism of the urokinase gene will support the screening of the large sample sizes required to do the population-based studies necessary to uncover disease susceptibility associations.