Association of Methylene Tetrahydrofolate Reductase Gene A1298C (Rs1801131) Polymorphism with Myocardial Infarction among Sudanese Patients

Background: Myocardial infarction (MI) is among the leading causes of mortality worldwide. Variations in folate metabolism including genetic polymorphisms in the key metabolic enzymes had showed influences in the MI process. Objectives: To determine whether the C1298A transition in the Methylene Tetrahydrofolate Reductase ( MTHFR ) gene is associated with increased risk for MI among Sudanese patients. Material and methods: This is a hospital based case control study in which a total of 140 Sudanese subjects were enrolled, 70 patients with myocardial infarction and 70 age- and sex matched healthy volunteers as a control group. Genomic DNA was extracted by (QIA gene, Korea) kits and the SNPs genotypes were determined using polymerase chain reaction followed by restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR- RFLP). Data of this study were collected using a structured interview questionnaire and analyzed by statistical package for social sciences (version 21). Results: The frequency of the AA genotype was higher in the patients group compared with control (96%, 71% respectively); while the AC genotype was higher in the control (20%, 5% respectively), while the CC genotype was not observed in this study population. The frequencies of A and C alleles were 0.68 and 0.02 respectively in MI patients while frequencies were 0.60 and 0.10 respectively in the control group. No statistically significant association was observed between MTHFR genotypes and MI (P. values = 0.4 and 0.1 for AA and AC genotypes respectively). Conclusion: In this study population, the A1298C MTHFR polymorphism is not associated with the risk of MI among the Sudanese population.