BACKGROUND: The correlations among polymorphisms of the Fc alpha receptor gene (Fc alpha R), its mRNA expressions, and clinical features of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and Henoch-Scholein nephritis (HSN) in children were analyzed. METHODS: In children with IgAN (n=26) and HSN (n=30), genotypes for -114 T/C and +6 T/C polymorphisms in the promoter region of Fc alpha R gene were determined by PCR-RFLP. And Fc alpha R mRNA expressions from the peripheral mononuclear cells (n=41) were semi-quantitatively measured by competitive RT-PCR. The clinico-pathological findings were reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: The distributions of -114 T/C and +56 T/C genotypes were not different between total patients and controls. However, the frequency of -114 CC genotype was significantly higher in the HSN patients than in control (13.3% vs 2.0%, OR=7.54, p<0.05). The genotypes for the two polymorphisms did not correlate with either clinical presentations or disease courses. The Fc alpha R mRNA expression showed no difference between patients and controls, and did not correlate with serum IgA level, either. CONCLUSION: The -114 T/C polymorphism of the Fc alpha R gene contributes as a risk factor for the development of HSN in children. However, the genotypic differences do not affect Fc alpha R mRNA transcription and not correlate with clinical features and disease courses.
Child* ; Genes, vpr ; Genotype ; Glomerulonephritis, IGA* ; Humans ; Immunoglobulin A* ; Nephritis* ; Promoter Regions, Genetic ; Retrospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; RNA, Messenger*