Research article

Polymorphisms of Glutathione S-transferases Omega-1 among ethnic populations in China

Songbo Fu^{* 1} , Jie Wu^{* 2} , Feng Chen² , Dianjun Sun¹ and Songbin Fu^2,3

¹The Center for Endemic Disease Control, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China

²Laboratory of Medical Genetics, Harbin Medical University, Harbin, 150081, China

³Bio-pharmaceutical Key Laboratory of Heilongjiang Province, Harbin 150081, China

author email corresponding author email* Contributed equally

BMC Genetics 2008, 9:29doi:10.1186/1471-2156-9-29

Published:	10 April 2008

Abstract

Background

Glutathione S-transferases (GSTs) is a genetic factor for many diseases and exhibits great diversities among various populations. We assessed association of the genotypes of Glutathione S-transferases Omega-1 (GSTO1) A140D with ethnicity in China.

Results

Peripheral blood samples were obtained from 1314 individuals from 14 ethnic groups. Polymorphisms of GSTO1 A140D were measured using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Logistic regression was employed to adjustment for regional factor. The frequency of GSTO1 140A allele was 15.49% in the total 14 ethnic populations. Compared to Han ethnic group, two ethnic populations were more likely to have AA or CA genotype [odds ratio (OR): 1.77, 95% confidence interval (95% CI): 1.05–2.98 for Uygur and OR: 1.78, 95% CI: 1.18–2.69 for Hui]. However, there were no statistically significant differences across 14 ethnic groups when region factor was adjusted. In Han ethnicity, region was significantly associated with AA or CA genotype. Han individuals who resided in North-west of China were more likely to have these genotypes than those in South of China (OR: 1.63, 95% CI: 1.21–2.20).

Conclusion

The prevalence of the GSTO1 140A varied significantly among different regional populations in China, which showed that geography played a more important role in the population differentiation for this allele than the ethnicity/race.