All issues > Volume 45(12); 2002

Original Article

J Korean Pediatr Soc. 2002;45(12):1497-1502. Published online December 15, 2002.

Allele Distribution and Frequency of Human Surfactant Protein-A1 in Korean Neonates

Kyung Shin KS Lee¹, Young Hee YH Kim¹, Jung Su JS Suk², Jung Ho JH Ko², Ook Joon OJ Yoo², In Kyu IK Lee¹, Myung Ho MH Oh¹, Chong Woo CW Bae³

¹Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Soonchunhyang University, Chonan, Korea
²Department of Biological Sciences, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology, Daejeon, Korea
³Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Kyunghee University, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence Myung Ho MH Oh ,Email: omh@schch.co.kr

Abstract

Purpose
: We evaluated allele frequencies and distribution of surfactant protein A1(SP-A1) in Korean neonates in order to estimate prevalence of RDS to find out new SP-A alleles, and to establish new steroid therapy.
Methods
: Genomic DNA was extracted from 100 neonates and served as a template in PCR for genotype analysis. SP-A gene-specific amplications and gene-specific allele determinations were performed using PCR-RFLP methods.
Results
: The distribution for the alleles of the SP-A1 gene in the study population were 6A, 6A2, 6A3, 6A4, 6A8, 6A9, 6A10, 6A11, 6A12, 6A13, 6A14, 6A15, 6A16, 6A17, 6A18, 6A20. The specific frequencies for the alleles of the SP-A1 gene in the study population were : 6A2=21%, 6A3=45%, 6A4=11%, 6A8=9%, 6A14=8%.
Conclusion
: The frequency of 6A3 was higher than the other SP-A1 alleles in Korean neonates. This finding suggests that the prevalence of RDS in Korea may be low compared with other countries. However, this finding also suggests that Korean neonates have a high risk of infection.

Keywords :Surfactant, SP-A1, SP-A1 alleles, RDS, Steroid