LAUSR

INTRODUCTION Chronic spontaneous urticaria (CSU) is an inflammatory skin disease related to poor quality of life. Previous studies have found that vitamin D deficiency and vitamin D receptor (VDR) TaqI, BsmI, FokI, and ApaI gene single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) influence immune response and susceptibility to skin disorders. AIM To explore the role of VDR SNPs, and the association of vitamin D serum levels in a sample of Colombian Caribbean CSU patients. Methods: It is a case-control study. A group of CSU patients (n = 100) was compared with healthy individuals as a control group (n = 100). VDR polymorphisms were genotyped by quantitative polymerase chain reaction and Taqman® probes. Allelic, genotypic, and haplotype associations were estimated. Serum vitamin D levels were measured using enzyme-linked-immunosorbent serologic assay. RESULTS Compared to the control group, the presence of G allele in TaqI and A allele in FokI SNPs of VDR gene was found to be a risk factor for CSU (odds ratio (OR) estimated using logistic regression adjusted by gender: 2.08 and 1.61, respectively, all P values < 0.05). The individuals who carry GCCA haplotype showed decrease in vitamin D levels (11.34 ng/mL; P = 0.002) with the G allele of TaqI and A allele of FokI gene SNPs. CONCLUSION We reported for the first time the association of TaqI [rs731236] and FokI [rs2228570] VDR gene SNPs showing as a risk factor for CSU in a sample of multiethnic patients from the Colombian Caribbean population.