Effect of VKORC1 Gene Polymorphism on Warfarin Response in Razavi Khorasan Province Cardiovascular Patients

Abstract

Background and Aims: Warfarin is an anticoagulant agent used for many years in treating various clinical conditions such as thromboembolisms in cardiovascular disease. Some patients require different doses of warfarin to reach the therapeutic international normalized ratio ratio. These patients have specific demographic characteristics. Genetic polymorphisms in specific genes have been reported to be an essential factor in response to warfarin. The present study investigated the effect of these polymorphisms of genes on warfarin dose necessities in pediatric of VCORC1 gene in patients.

Material and Methods: Ninety-five patients with cardiovascular disease, who were receiving warfarin for at least three months, enrolled in the present cross-sectional study. Their genomic DNA was extracted from their peripheral blood, and the VKORC1 (rs9923231) polymorphism was evaluated by polymerase chain reaction and sequencing.

Results: Among the study population, 48 patients (50.5%) had TC genotype and, 21 (22.1%) and 9 (9.5%) patients have TT and CC genotype, respectively. There was no significant relation between Warfarin dose and VCORC1 genotype in our population (p<0.05). 

Conclusions: The VKORC1 polymorphism (rs9923231) did not significantly affect the warfarin required for cardiovascular disease patients. Further studies evaluating other genes such as CYP2C9 polymorphisms in our population are warranted.