Proceedings of International Conference on Applied Innovation in IT  ·  2026/06/12  ·  Vol. 14  ·  Issue 4  ·  pp. 769–776
Investigating the Association Between VCAM-1 Gene Polymorphism and Rheumatoid Arthritis Susceptibility in a Sample of Iraqi Patients
Aseel Jawad Kadim, Dhiya Houssien, Luay Qasim Abdulhameed, Rana Abdul Sattar Jassim, Mohanad Waheeb Mahdi, Khalid Dfeek Ahmed, Aya Amir Kamel and Ali Jaffar Saleem
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Abstract
Vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) plays a significant role in the mediation of leukocyte adhesion and migration, and its role has been implicated in the pathogenesis of rheumatoid arthritis (RA). Even though there are genetic variations in the VCAM-1 gene, there is insufficient data regarding the role of the rs3170794 polymorphism, especially among Iraqi populations. A study investigated the VCAM-1 rs3170794 polymorphism and RA risk in Iraqi patients. The current study was conducted on 30 RA patients and 20 healthy controls were enrolled. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood, and the genotype of the VCAM-1 rs3170794 polymorphism was identified using conventional PCR and sequencing. After that, genotype and allele frequencies were calculated and compared to those expected under the Hardy-Weinberg principle. The relationship between the VCAM-1 rs3170794 polymorphism and RA risk was calculated using odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals and Fisher's exact test. The results showed that there are three genotypes: TT, CT, and CC. There are also two alleles: T and C. Among these genotypes, TT is the most dominant genotype. It is seen in 90% of the patients and 95% of the control group. What is also interesting is that the CC genotype is only found in RA patients (6.67%) but not in the control group. Although the risk of RA is seen with the CC genotype (OR 3.60) and C allele (OR 3.55), these are not statistically significant. All the genotypes were in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. In conclusion, the polymorphism of VCAM-1 rs3170794 did not demonstrate a statistically significant association with susceptibility to RA. Nevertheless, the increased prevalence of the CC genotype and C allele in patients with the condition indicates a possible association, which should be further explored. This should be done with a larger sample size, including functional studies to understand the impact.
Keywords
Polymorphism Rheumatoid Arthritis VCAM-1 Gene Rs3170794
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