The SOD2 polymorphism Val16Ala T→C influences the antioxidative response. This study investigated the association of the SOD2 polymorphism and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity with the vaso-occlusive crisis (VOC) and acute splenic sequestration (ASS) in children with sickle cell anemia (SCA). One hundred ninety-five children with SCA aged 1–9 years old were analyzed. The TC and CC genotypes were associated with lower SOD activity compared with the TT genotype (p=0.0321; p=0.0253, respectively). Furthermore, TC and CC were more frequent in patients with VOC or ASS (p=0.0285; p=0.0090, respectively). These results suggest that the SOD2 polymorphism associated with low SOD activity could be a susceptibility factor for the occurrence of VOC and ASS.

Objective: This study aimed to evaluate whether the single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) +191 C>A (rs4644) and +292 A>C (rs4652) of the LGALS3 gene and the serum levels of galectin-3 (gal-3) are associated with clinical events in patients with sickle cell anemia (SCA). Methods: SNP +191 and +292 of the LGALS3 gene were detected by the TaqMan PCR system in real time. Gal-3 levels were measured in serum by ELISA. The study included 322 patients, mean age 36 (21-84). Results: AA and CA genotypes of the +191 region were related to lower levels of gal-3 when compared to CC genotype (p=0.0296). Lower level of gal-3 was also associated with the +191/+292 (AA/CC; CA/CC) diplotypes (p=0.0137) compared to the diplotypes (CC/AA; CC/CC; CC/AC; CA/AC). There was no association between serum levels of galectin-3 and genotype frequencies of the LGALS3 +191 and +292 polymorphisms with clinical events in SCA. Conclusion: The polymorphisms +191 and +292 of the LGALS3 are associated to decrease in serum levels of gal-3. However, no association of polymorphisms and levels of gal-3 with clinical events was observed in patients SCA.

Objective: This study has as objective to verify whether MBL2 gene polymorphisms are related to the occurrence of cerebrovascular disease (CD) in sickle cell anemia (SCA) patients. Methods: Overall, 259 unrelated SCA patients were enrolled. The patients were divided into three groups: control group, stroke group ad range of risk group. Peripheral blood samples were collected and DNA extraction was performed. All patients were genotyped for exon 1, promoter region -221 and promoter region -550 of MBL2 gene, along with β-globin gene haplotypes. Results: Concerning the genotyping of the MBL2, there was no difference in the frequency of allelic and genotypic variants of the exon 1 and the promoter regions -221 and -550 of the MBL2 gene among the studied groups. Conclusion: Despite the small number of patients, and the lack of association between MBL2 polymorphisms and CD, our study represents an effort to understand the impact of MBL2 polymorphisms in the clinical outcome of patients with SCA.