CCR5Δ32 mutation in Bosnian and Polish subjects with and without Crohn’s disease - a preliminary report

Objectives: Chemokines and their receptors participate in the pathogenesis of various inflammatory diseases. Few studies have confirmed that variants of CCR5 gene are correlated with susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease and Crohn’s disease. Data on prevalence of CCR5Δ32 mutation in Crohn’s disease in population from Poland and Bosnia and Herzegovina are lacking. The aim of our study was to assess the prevalence of CCR5Δ32 mutation and its association with Crohn’s disease in these populations. Methods: In this pilot study, we recruited 229 participants. Out of 60 participants from Bosnia and Herzegovina, 30 were controls; out of 169 participants from Poland, 83 were controls. We examined the prevalence of CCR5Δ32 mutation and compared with disease behavior/phenotype which was assessed according to Montreal classification. Participants were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction and data were analyzed using the StatView computer software version 5.0 (SAS Institute Inc. Cary, NC, USA). Results : Ileal localization was more frequent in Bosnian (40.0%) compared to Polish patients with Crohn’s disease (3.2%) ( χ 2 =26.07; p<0.0001). A2L2B1 and A2L3B1 were more frequent in Polish than in Bosnian patients with Crohn’s disease ( χ 2 =60.31; p<0.001). In Bosnian and Polish patients with Crohn’s disease mean frequency of Δ32 allele was 3.3% and 7.0%, and for Bosnian and Polish control groups 13.3% and 9.8%, respectively. Conclusion: CCR5Δ32 mutation may be associated with disease behavior and thereby may contribute to the observed heterogeneity of Crohn’s disease. Further studies with larger sample size in both countries are warranted. Keywords: genetic polymorphism, C-C chemokine receptor type 5, Crohn’s disease, Montreal classification