Polymorphisms of the Lactoferrin Gene in Taiwanese Periodontitis Patients

Objective: Previous study had revealed a dramatic difference in the frequencies of the Lys/Arg polymorphism in lactoferrin genotype between a small population of localized juvenile periodontitis patients and healthy subjects. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between polymorphisms of the lactoferrin gene and periodontitis. Methods: Sixty-five patients with aggressive periodontitis (AgP), 278 chronic periodontitis (CP) and 88 healthy controls (H) were genotyped for the Lys/Arg polymorphism of the lactoferrin at position 29 (rs 1126478) in the N-terminal alpha-helical region of human lactoferrin. Results: The frequencies of GG is higher in CP than in H group, while AG and AA are lower in CP than in H. The crude odds ratio (OR) of GG/AA , AG/AA and GG/AA+AG are 1.71, 1.26 and 1.43 respectively. There are no significant differences of the adjusted OR neither in the distribution of lactoferrin genotype nor allele frequencies between CP and H. The distribution of lactoferrin genotypes in AgP was significantly different (p=0.0195) between AgP and H. The AgP had a higher frequency of GG genotype. The crude OR of GG/AA and GG/AA+AG are 4.80 and 2.17, suggesting that lactoferrin gene polymorphism may influence the susceptibility to AgP. Conclusions: The present study revealed that the A/G polymorphism in lactoferrin gene is associated with AgP. The allele A might reduce the risk in the development and severity of AgP. The functionality of this gene polymorphisms has to be further elucidated. This study was partially supported by a grant (NSC 93-2314-B-037-070, NSC 94-2314-B-037-010) from National Science Council, Taiwan.