The Role of Phosphatidylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase (PEMT) Gene rs12449964 Polymorphism in the Development of Acute Pancreatitis and its Complications

Background. Acute pancreatitis is considered to be an important issue in modern medicine. The phosphatidylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase enzyme plays a significant role in the regulation of lipid metabolism by catalyzing the process of methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine to phosphatidylcholine. These lipids are key components of mitochondrial and cell membranes, providing their fluid and plastic properties and participating in the transport of fats, fatty acids and cholesterol. Along with its function in the synthesis of phosphatidylcholine, the methylation of phosphatidylethanolamine promotes the turnover of S-adenosylmethionine for the synthesis of cysteine and glutathione through transulphurisation. PEMT is a gene encoding the phosphatidylethanolamine-N-methyltransferase enzyme.

Aim. To determine the role of PEMT C/T rs12449964 polymorphism in the risk of developing acute pancreatitis and its complications among Russian residents in Central Russia.

Materials and methods. Whole blood samples were collected from 502 unrelated patients with acute non-biliary pancreatitis (97 women and 405 men) of Russian nationality who had been admitted to the surgical departments of the city of Kursk from 2015 to 2018, as well as from 513 unrelated individuals of Russian nationality without gastrointestinal diseases (101 women and 412 men). The average age of patients and healthy individuals was 48.9 ± 13.1 and 47.89 ± 12.1 years, respectively. Genomic DNA was isolated by a standard phenol-chloroform extraction method. Genotyping of rs12449964 polymorphism was performed using real-time PCR by allelic discrimination using a CFX96 Bio-Rad Laboratories amplifier (USA) with TaqMan probes and commercial TaqMan SNP Genotyping Assays reagents purchased from Applied Biosystems (USA).

Results. The study has shown that the frequency of the C allele and the C/C PEMT C/T rs12449964 genotype was higher in the group of patients with acute pancreatitis, while the C/T genotype was predominant in the control group. C/T — T/T genotypes demonstrated a protective effect on the development of infected pancreatic necrosis, purulent necrotic peripancreatitis and severe acute pancreatitis.

Conclusions. The disruption of phosphatidylethanolamine methylation processes increases the sensitivity of cells to oxidative stress, which can lead to the development of acute pancreatitis.

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