Effects of Glu298Asp Polymorphism of Endothelial Nitric Oxide Synthase (eNOS) Gene on eNOS mRNA and Protein

The relationship between cardiovascular disease and Glu298Asp polymorphism of nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene in vascular endothelial cells is controversial due to conflict-ing results. To demonstrate the effects of Glu298Asp polymorphism of the eNOS gene on eNOS gene expression by excluding the effects of various confounding factors, eNOS mRNA and protein expressions were measured using cultured human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVECs) according to genotypes of Glu298Asp polymorphism of the eNOS gene. eNOS mRNA expression was measured by real-time PCR/reverse trasn-scription-PCR. eNOS protein expression was measured by an immunoassay method. HUVECs with Glu298Asp tended to show higher eNOS mRNA and protein expressions than those with Glu298Glu, but the difference was not significant. These results sug-gest that the genotypic difference of Glu298Glu and Glu298Asp has no effect on eNOS mRNA and protein expressions. Key words: gene expression; nitric oxide synthase; polymorphism; vascular endothelial cell Nitric oxide produced from vascular endothelial cells is synthesized from L-arginine by the func