Absence of kl-vs Variant of Klotho Gene in Iranian Cardiac Patients (Comparison to the World Populations)

Objective: Klotho has an important role in development of coronary artery (CAD) disease. A functional variant of klotho gene (kl-vs) has been found as an independent risk factor for early-onset occult coronary artery disease (CAD) in previous studies. The Frequency of this variant was not known in Iranian population. We have examined the allele frequency of the kl-vs variant in a case-control study in an Iranian population.

Methods and results: Genotyping for kl-vs variant was carried out in N = 107 individuals including N = 54 cases and N = 53 control who all underwent coronary angiogram for CAD evaluation. Patients with >50% stenosis in vessels considered as case groups (or CAD⁺) and patients with normal vessels (or CAD⁻) as controls. The frequency of kl-vs variant was determined in these patients using PCR-RFLP technique. None of the individual was carrying the kl-vs mutation in our samples. The frequency of kl-vs mutation was significantly different from previous studies in different populations.

Conclusion: The kl-vs variant seems to be scare found in the Iranian population in comparison to other populations reported previously. Klotho gene might be a candidate gene of atherosclerosis in some populations but not in Iranian population. Further studies are required to examine the frequency of kl-vs variant in other populations from the Middle East.