Promoter polymorphisms of the vascular endothelial growth factor gene are associated with metabolic syndrome susceptibility in Koreans.

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent regulator of angiogenesis. Patients with metabolic syndrome (MetS) have elevated plasma VEGF levels. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between promoter polymorphisms (the -2578C>A and -1154G>A) of the gene and MetS susceptibility. A total of 640 subjects were enrolled in the study including 320 patients with MetS and 320 healthy controls. Genotyping of the single nucleotide polymorphisms was performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis. The CA and AA genotypes of the -2578C>A polymorphism were associated with decreased risk of MetS (P=0.018, P=0.003, respectively). For the -1154G>A polymorphism, although the GA genotype was more significantly frequent in MetS patients (P=0.022), the AA genotype and recessive model (GG+GA vs. AA) were protective against MetS susceptibility (P=0.016, 0.007, respectively). The A-G haplotype frequency composed of the -2578C>A and -1154G>A polymorphisms also differed between the 2 groups (P=0.011). The presented data suggested that the A alleles and A-G haplotype of the -2578C>A and -1154G>A polymorphisms are associated with decreased MetS susceptibility. To the best of the authors' knowledge, the current study is the first to investigate the associations between the -2578C>A and -1154G>A polymorphisms and MetS patients. Further evaluation is necessary to explore the associations between the polymorphisms and MetS patients in larger samples of other ethnic or racial populations.