Evaluation of chemokine receptor 2 polymorphism in patients with end-stage renal disease

Background The inflammatory state accompanying end-stage renal disease (ESRD) is hallmarked by renal infiltration of monocytes/macrophages, which are the major source of chemokines and chemokine receptors. We aimed to determine the frequency and association of chemokine receptor 2 (CCR2)-V64I polymorphism in patients with ESRD. Patients and methods A total of 35 patients attending the hemodialysis unit and 21 healthy controls were recruited in this study. The PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique was used to assess genotype frequencies of CCR2-V64I. Results The frequency of genotypes GG, AG, and AA in patient group was 65.7, 25.7, and 8.6%, respectively, in comparison with 81.0, 14.3, and 4.8%, respectively, in the control group. Therefore, the patient group showed higher frequency of AG and AA genotypes and a lower frequency of GG genotype than the control group but this difference was not significant. The frequencies of A and G alleles did not show a significant difference between the two groups. The frequencies of G and A alleles were 78.6 and 21.4%, respectively, in the patient group in comparison with 88.1 and 11.9%, respectively, in the controls. Patients carrying the genotypes AA and G/A showed rapid progression to ESRD than those with genotype G/G. No significant association was found between the occurrence of polymorphism and the presence of hypertension or diabetes mellitus. Conclusion The CCR2-V64I gene polymorphism may play a role in the pathogenesis and severity of ESRD in Egyptian patients. To uncover this role, further analyses should be carried out on larger population-based studies.