The 27-bp VNTR Polymorphism in Intron 4 of the Human eNOS Gene in Healthy Singaporean Chinese, Indians, and Malays

• Published in: Biochemical genetics Vol. 50; no. 1-2; pp. 52 - 62
• Main Authors: Gan, Yik Yuen, Chen, Chuan Fei
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01.02.2012; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Arginine; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - ethnology; Asian Continental Ancestry Group - genetics; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Gene Frequency; Gene polymorphism; Human Genetics; Humans; India - ethnology; Introns; Malaysia - ethnology; Medical Microbiology; Minisatellite Repeats; Nitric oxide; Nitric Oxide Synthase Type III - genetics; Nitric-oxide synthase; Polymorphism, Genetic; Population genetics; Population studies; Singapore; Zoology; Malaysia; Singapore; India; Variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR); Chinese; Indians; Malays; Endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS)
• DOI: 10.1007/s10528-011-9458-0
• ISSN: 0006-2928

Human endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) is one isoform of the nitric oxide synthases that are responsible for nitric oxide synthesis from l -arginine. The gene encoding eNOS contains a 27-bp VNTR polymorphism in intron 4. We report here for the first time the presence of a novel allele 3, which was absent in all other populations studied to date, in 1.7% each of Singaporean Indians and Malays. We also detected the presence of a novel genotype 3/5 in 3.4% each of Singaporean Indians and Malays. Allele 6, which was absent in Han Chinese from northern China and Taiwan and was also absent in Indians from the Indian subcontinent, was found in 2.1% of Singaporean Chinese and in 0.3% of Singaporean Indians.