Determination of RRM1, RRM2, ERCCC2 gene polymorphisms in atherosclerosis and TYPE 2 diabetes mellitus cases.

Atherosclerosis is a very common disease with high mortality of pathological plaque generations in arteries. The main causes of this high mortality are myocardial infractions and aneurisms caused by atherosclerotic plaques. As a multifactorial disease, atherosclerosis is related to both genetic and enviromental factors as age, sex, serum lipid levels, feeding disorders, smoking and drinking. Type 2 Diabetes Melitus is a metabolic disorder of adults with hyperglycemia caused by insulin intolerance and/or lack of insulin secretion. Within time, Type 2 Diabetes can cause cardiovascular diseases, nephropathies, neuropathies, retinopathies and latency in wound healing. Despite increased incidences, molecular mechanisms have not been elucidated in either of the diseases. Recent findings show that DNA damage by direct oxidative stress or derivatives, may play role in generation of Type 2 Diabetes and Atherosclerosis. To elucidate those informations, we aimed to investigate the relationships of gene polymorphisms in DNA repair pathways with Type 2 Diabetes and Atherosclerosis. ERCC2, RRM1 and RRM2 genes were investigated in our study, as they code XPD Helicase enzyme in Nucleotide Excision Repair Pathway and subunits of Ribonucleotide Reductase enzyme, respectively. In conclusion, there were no statistically significant differences between patient and control groups in terms of those polymorphisms. Key Words: Atherosclerosis, Coronary Artery Disease, Type 2 Diabetes, DNA Damage, DNA Repair, Nucleotide Excision Repair, RRM1, RRM2, ERCC2, Polymorphism