MTHFR (C677T) polymorphism and its association with cytogenetic and clinical profile in individuals with primary amenorrhea

Abstract

Abnormal folate metabolism is a risk factor for DNA hypomethylation and chromosomal nondisjunction. MTHFR is a candidate gene for folliculogenesis and ovarian development. In the present study, we aimed to investigate the distribution of the MTHFR C677T polymorphism in individuals with primary amenorrhea and it’s association with the cytogenetic and clinical profile. The MTHFR polymorphism (C677T) was checked in 45 females with PA and 45 control females (age-matched) with regular menstrual cycles using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. We observed the CC genotype in 84.4% (n = 38) of the control group females and 48.9% (n = 22) of the case group females, CT genotype in 13.3% (n = 6) in the control group females and 24.4% (n = 11) in the case group females (p = 0.039; χ2 value 4.253; odd ratio 0.316, 95%CI 0.103–0.973) and TT genotype in 2.2% (n = 1) in the control group females and 26.7% (n = 12) in the case group females (p = 0.000266; χ2 value 13.294; odd ratio 0.048, 95%CI 0.006–0.397). Out of 45 case group females, 26 females showed 46,XX karyotype, 4 females showed male karyotype, 3 females showed pure Turner karyotype, 2 females were mosaic Turner and the rest of the females showed structural abnormalities like deletion, isochromosome and normal variants. The serum values revealed significantly lower levels (p = 0.032) of progesterone in the individuals with the TT genotype as compared to the CC genotype and the radiology profile showed a significant role of the MTHFR gene in ovarian development (p = 0.024). We suggest that the MTHFR polymorphism (C677T) might be responsible for the chromosomal nondisjunction in monosomy X females. It also influences the progesterone level and ovarian development, thus affecting folliculogenesis and the ovarian reserve responsible for primary amenorrhea.