Association study of endometriosis and intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM1) gene polymorphisms in a Japanese population, J Soc Gynecol Investig 12

OBJECTIVE: Endometriosis is an immune-related, chronic inflammatory disease with polygenic predis-position. Cell adhesion molecules are expressed in endometriotic lesions, and in cells and tissues that are involved in the development and progression of the disease. In this study, we investigated the possible association between endometriosis and the G241R and K469E polymorphisms in the intercellular adhesion molecule-i (ICAM-1) gene in a Japanese population. METHODS: We compared the distribution ofthe G241R and K469Epolymorphisms in the ICAM-1 gene in 126 endometriosis patients and 172 controls using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis in a Japanese population. RESULTS: There were no significant differences between the cases and controls in the allelefrequencies or genotype distributions of either the G241R or K469E polymorphisms in the ICAM-1 gene. The endometriosis patients were divided into a subgroup of women with severe disease only. However, no significant differences were observed in the allele frequencies and genotype distributions of the ICAM- 1 K469E polymorphisms between this subgroup and the controls. In contrast, only one in 169 controls was heterozygous (G/A genotype), and the A allele in the G241R polymorphism was notfound in any of the 126 endometriosis patients.