Prevalence of prothrombotic polymorphisms in Greece

The aim of this study was to assess the prevalence of several polymorphisms in genes that are involved in several pathways such as hemostasis, fibrinolysis, platelet membrane receptor activity, endothelial integrity and function, lipid metabolism, and regulation of blood pressure in healthy subjects of Greek origin. Most of these polymorphisms are mainly associated with conditions such as venous thromboembolism and atherothrombosis, and their prevalence has not been studied yet in Greece. We tested 140 healthy individuals for factor V (FV)1691G/A, FV4070G/A, FII 20210G/A, factor XIII (FXIII) exon 2G/T, fibrinogen beta-455G/A, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1)-675 4G/5G, human platelet antigens 1 (HPA1) a/b, apolipoprotein B (ApoB) 10708 G/A, apolipoprotein E (ApoE) E2, E3, and E4, angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) D/I, 5,10 methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) 677C/T, and MTHFR 1298A/C polymorphisms using a PCR and reverse hybridization technique that detects all of them simultaneously. The allele frequencies observed are in accordance with those reported in other Caucasian populations and almost identical to those of East Mediterranean populations. This first report from Greece may serve as a baseline for planning further investigations of these polymorphisms in association with several clinical entities and for launching guidelines for patient testing of various disease settings in this population.