Biochemical and molecular genetic studies of abdominal aortic aneurysm in an Irish population

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a common disease of the elderly exhibiting a complex aetiology. In a survey of 82 Irish aneurysm patients, compared to 79 age- and sex-matched control subjects, we have investigated a number of potential biochemical and molecular genetic markers which are amenable to analysis from blood specimens and which might have predictive value for AAA. No significant differences were observed between patients and control subjects in relation to serum lipids, leucocyte elastase activity or serum alpha 1-antitrypsin concentration. We have used the polymerase chain reaction to screen the patient and control groups in search of disease-associated genetic variation on chromosome 16, particularly in the region of the Cholesteryl Ester Transfer Protein (CETP) gene. Although variation in allele frequencies was detected between patients and controls at the four marker loci studied, no significant gene-disease associations were detected. The absence of gene-disease associations in our study may indicate that the genetic component in the aetiology of AAA in Ireland differs from that in the UK. Alternatively, it may indicate that the high degree of polymorphism at microsatellite loci may make them unsuitable as markers for the study of gene-disease associations in moderately sized populations. We therefore conclude that the biochemical and molecular genetic markers which we have examined are of no predictive value, and that ultrasonography remains the screening modality of choice for abdominal aortic aneurysm.