Neonatal jaundice and bilirubin UDP-glucuronosyl transferase 1A1 gene polymorphism in Turkish patients

Bilirubin uridine diphosphate-glucuronosyltransferase (B-UGT) is the rate-limiting enzyme for the conjugation of bilirubin with glucuronic acid in its excretion process into the bile. Variations in B-UGT gene (UGT-1A1) have been related to disorders characterised by hyperbilirubinaemia. The aim of this study was to investigate whether the number of thymine-adenine repeats in the promoter region of UGT-1A1 was related to non-physiologic hyperbilirubinemia of unexplained aetiology in Turkish newborns. These patients (n=106) were genotyped for their thymine-adenine repeat number in the promoter region of UGT-1A1, and were divided into two groups according to their bilirubin level. Forty-nine newborns with bilirubin levels higher than 17 mg/dl within the first ten days of life comprised the hyperbilirubinaemia group and 25 newborns with bilirubin levels higher than 10 mg/dl after fifteen days of life formed the prolonged jaundice group. Thirty-two newborns were included as healthy controls. The observed frequencies for the wild-type six repeat allele thymine-adenine (TA(6)) within each subject group were similar (P>0.05; 75.5%, 78.0% and 73.4%, respectively). Likewise, the distribution of TA(6/6), TA(6/7) and TA(7/7) genotypes among three groups were similar. These results imply that the TA(7) repeat allele of UGT1A1 (UGT1A1*28) is a common variant in the Turkish population. Our results do not suggest an association between thymine-adenine repeat polymorphism of UGT1A1 and hyperbilirubinaemia of unexplained aetiology or prolonged jaundice in Turkish neonates.