Genotype and allele frequencies of heme oxygenase-1 promoter region in a Greek cohort.

Background: Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) is an enzyme, which catabolizes heme into carbon monoxide, biliverdin and free iron. The induction of this enzyme is an important cytoprotective mechanism, which occurs as an adaptive and beneficial response to a wide variety of oxidant stimuli. HO-1 inducibility is mainly modulated by a (GT)(n) polymorphism in the promoter region, and has been shown that short (S) repeats are associated with greater up-regulation of HO-1, compared with long (L) repeats.

Methods: In the present study, 250 healthy Greek individuals have been screened in order to estimate the frequencies of (GT)(n) alleles in the HO-1 gene.

Results: Nineteen different alleles, ranging from 17 to 39 repeats, with (GT)(23) and (GT)(30) being the most common ones, were identified.

Conclusion: The possible role of this polymorphism in disease states is discussed.