Abstract
Background: Antithrombin(AT) is a major anticoagulation molecule in vivo and is encoded by the gene SERPINC1. AT plays a key role as an inhibitor of physiological haemostasis by inhibiting the procoagulation factors, especially the factor Xa and thrombin.
Objectives: To explore the variations of SERPINC1 gene associated with venous thrombosis in the Chinese population.
Methods: SERPINC1 gene sequencing was carried out. A case-control study involving 1335 patients diagnosed with VT and 1315 Age- and sex-matched control individuals without a history of thrombosis were further carried out. Furthermore, plasma AT activity, AT antigen, and thrombin generation tests (TGT) were performed to evaluate the influences of the mutations.
Results: Four different missense mutations were identified in an unreported hot spot region of SERPINC1. They were c.880C>T(p.Arg294Cys), c.881G>T(p.Arg294Leu), c.881G>A(p.Arg294His) and c.883G>A(p.Val295Met). All of the affected individuals were heterozygotes. In addition, c.883G>A was found to be a predominant mutation. In the case-control study, the mutation was proved to be a strong risk factor for venous thrombosis with an OR of 10.92(p<0.01, 95%CI 1.41-84.68). Functional assays showed that both the activities and antigens of plasma AT decreased mildly.
Conclusion: A hot spot mutation region of SERPINC1 gene was discovered. The predominant mutation of SERPINC1 c.883G>A is the most frequent cause of AT deficiency and is associated with an increased risk of venous thrombosis in the Chinese population.
No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Author notes
Asterisk with author names denotes non-ASH members.
