Association between Hepatocyte Growth Factor (HGF) Gene Polymorphisms and Serum HGF Levels in Patients with Rheumatoid Arthritis.

Objective: Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a chronic inflammatory disease characterized by proliferation and insufficient apoptosis of synovial cell, inflammatory cell infiltration, angiogenesis, and destruction of joints. Hepatocyte growth factor (HGF) has many functions, such as regulation of inflammation, angiogenesis, and inhibition of apoptosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the association between intron 13 C/A and intron 14 T/C HGF gene polymorphisms and serum HGF levels in patients with RA.

Materials And Methods: 100 patients with RA and 123 healthy controls were included in this study. Serum HGF concentrations were measured using ELISA kit. Gene polymorphisms were determined by allelic discrimination analysis using the real-time PCR method.

Results: HGF levels, frequency of AA genotype and A allele for intron 13 C/A polymorphism and frequency of CC genotype and C allele for intron 14 T/C polymorphism were increased in patients with RA compared to healthy controls. There was no overall associations between genotypes and serum HGF concentrations in both patient and control groups.

Conclusion: Our results indicate that HGF protein and gene may play an important role in the etiopathogenesis of RA. However, further studies are required for a better understanding of mechanisms related to the disease process.