LACK OF PRSS 1 AND SPINK 1 POLYMORPHISMS IN SERBIAN ACUTE PANCREATITIS PATIENTS
Acute pancreatitis represents an acute nonbacterial infl ammation of the pancreas caused by a premature and ectopic activation of pancreatic digestive enzymes. Two of the most important genes in pancreatic autodigestion, PRSS1 and SPINK1, were implicated in the earliest discoveries of the genetic background of pancreatitis. However, the distribution of their variations displays interethnic variability, which could signifi cantly aff ect the magnitude of their proposed effects on this disease worldwide. Th e aim of the present study was to investigate the distribution of the most important functional variations of PRSS1 (86A>T and 365G>A) and SPINK1 (101A>G), and their infl uence on the clinical course of acute pancreatitis in Serbian patients. Th e study enrolled 81 subjects, the severity of disease course was determined using the Atlanta Classifi cation system, and the genotyping was conducted using a PCR-RFLP method. PRSS1 86A>T and 365G>A SNPs were not observed in the study population, while SPINK1 101A>G was present with the frequency of 0.62% (95% CI: 0.00, 3.83%). Due to extremely low frequencies or absences of examined variations, the proposed eff ect of these SNPs on the severity of acute pancreatitis could not be confi rmed. Th e results do not support routine genotyping of either PRSS1 or SPINK1 in Serbs.