Determination of Methylenetetrahydrofolate Reductase (MTHFR) gene polymorphism in Turkish patients with nonsyndromic cleft lip and palate.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the association between MTHFR C677T polymorphism and Turkish patients with nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate (nsCL/P) and to determine the prevalence of the Turkish population. PATIENTS AND METHODS: Molecular analysis of gene polymorphisms were carried out using polymerase chain reactions and restriction enzyme digestions. In our study, 80 patients with nsCL/P and 125 unrelated individuals from Turkey were studied. RESULTS: We found that MTHFR C677T polymorphism is a significant risk factor for nsCL/P in Turkey (p=0.0004). These results support the impact of MTHFR C677T polymorphism and importance of folic acid intake in the etiology of nsCL/P. CONCLUSIONS: MTHFR gene which is localized in the relevant region of chromosome 1p36.3 not been studied Turkish patients with nsCL/P and the prevalence of our country not to be determined. We revealed statistically association between the MTHFR C677T gene polymorphism and nonsyndromic cleft lip and/or palate in the Turkish population.