Association of Taq I, Fok I and Apa I polymorphisms in Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) gene with leprosy.

Background: Vitamin D Receptor (VDR) is a transacting transcription factor which mediates immunomodulatory function and plays a key role in innate and adaptive immune responses through its ligand and polymorphisms in VDR gene may affect its regulatory function.

Objective: To investigate the association of three VDR gene polymorphisms (TaqI rs731236, FokI rs2228570 and ApaI rs7975232) with leprosy.

Methods: The study group includes 404 participants of which 222 were leprosy patients (paucibacillary=87, multibacillary=135) and 182 healthy controls.