A meta-analysis of endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene T786C polymorphism as a risk factor for acute chest syndrome in sickle cell disease

Abstract Objective The aim of this meta-analysis was to determine association of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) T786C polymorphism with the susceptibility of acute chest syndrome in sickle cell disease patients. Methods Meta-analysis was conducted by pooling the results of 5 eligible studies that were retrieved from Pubmed, Pubmed Central, Science Direct and Google Scholar. Results After carrying out the meta-analysis of pooled samples, no significant association of eNOS T786C polymorphism with acute chest syndrome in sickle cell disease patients was identified. There was moderate to high degree of heterogeneity in the data in all the genotypic and allelic models. There was no publication bias as evident from Egger's test. No subgroup analysis was made due to lack of sufficient data. Conclusion The present study deliberates the T786C eNOS gene polymorphism is not a significant risk factor for the acute chest syndrome in sickle cell disease patients.