TITLE:
MBL2 Gene Polymorphism and the Association with Neonatal Sepsis in Egyptian Neonates, a Case Control Study
AUTHORS:
Ghada El-Saeed Mashaly, Amr Mohamed El-Sabbagh, Samah Sabry El-Kazzaz, Islam Nour
KEYWORDS:
Mannose Binding Lectin (MBL), Neonatal Sepsis, Gene Polymorphism, Multiplex PCR, Geneotype, Haplotype
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Immunology,
Vol.6 No.3,
September
28,
2016
ABSTRACT: Mannose binding lectin (MBL) is an important component of innate immunity particularly in neonates
whose adaptive immunity is not fully developed. Polymorphism in MBL2 gene promoter and
exon1 determines MBL serum level and function. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequency
of different MBL2 genotypes in neonatal sepsis among patients of neonatal intensive care
unit (NICU). Two hundred and forty-five neonates were enrolled in this study (127 infected and
118 uninfected controls). Multiplex PCR and double amplification refractory mutation system
(dARMS) were used for typing of MBL2 exon1 and promoter respectively. Klebsiella species were
the most frequently isolated organisms (22.8%). There is no statistical significance difference in
the distribution of different expression genotypes between infected group and controls (P = 0.11).
However, prevalence of low MBL2 expression genotypes (XA/O and O/O) was higher in infected
patients compared to control group (patients 25.2% and controls 15.3%). Low and medium MBL2 expression genotypes were mostly associated with Gram-negative bacterial infections (18.9% and
22.8%) respectively. A statistically significant association of Gram-negative bacterial infections
with low MBL2 expression genotypes was found (P = 0.02). Higher frequency of AB and BB genotypes
was observed (31.5% and 7.9%) in patients group compared to control, but without statistical
significant difference.