Association between single-nucleotide polymorphisms of vascular endothelial growth factor gene and Alzheimer's disease in Shaanxi Han population

Objective: To evaluate the association between 8 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) gene and the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) in Shaanxi Han population. Methods: We examined the potential association between AD and 8 SNPs of VEGF gene using the MassARRAY system. The participants enrolled in this study included 214 patients with AD and 249 healthy controls from Shaanxi Han population. SPSS16.0 and Haploview 4.2 were employed to analyze differences in genotypes, alleles and haplotypes between the two groups. Results: The results showed that rs3025039 (3'UTR) were significantly associated with AD (P<0.05). Greater frequency of rs3025039 T allele (P=0.008, OR=1.527, 95% CI=1.116-2.088) was found in AD subjects. Furthermore, strong linkage disequilibrium (LD) was observed in 2 locks (block1: rs699947-rs1570360-rs2010963; block 2: rs3024997-rs3024998-rs3025006) (D'>0.9). There were no significant haplotypes in block 1 and block 2 (P=0.034) found between the patients and controls. Conclusion: These findings point to the role for VEGF gene polymorphisms (rs3025039) in AD of a Shaanxi Han population. Individuals with T allele of rs3025039 may be at a higher risk for AD.