Association of CASP3 rs4647602 Gene Polymorphism with Periodontitis in South Indians of Tamil Ethnicity

Objective: Caspase-3 (CASP3) activation is central to apoptosis and is involved in periodontal disease pathogenesis. CASP3 gene polymorphism in a population may influence the periodontitis disease severity. In this study, we aimed to identify the association of CASP3 (rs4647602) gene polymorphism with periodontitis and to correlate clinical parameters based on genotype and allele distribution in periodontally diseased and healthy South Indian subjects of Tamil ethnicity.Materials and Methods: Allele-specific polymerase chain reaction genotyping were performed to identify CASP3 rs4647602 gene polymorphism in 145 periodontally healthy subjects and 145 periodontitis subjects. The association between gene polymorphism frequencies and the risk of periodontitis were analyzed by Pearson chi-square test, Mann-Whitney U test, t test, logistic regression, and assessed by odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI).Results: The statistical test results demonstrated a significant difference in genotype distribution between the two groups (p < 0.001) and the variant GG genotype was associated with a significantly increased risk for periodontitis (OR = 3.55, 95% CI = 1.89-6.68, p < 0.001). Furthermore, all clinical parameters were highly significant to the genotypes in periodontitis subjects (p < 0.05).Conclusion: The present study suggests that the rs4647602 GG genotype of CASP3 is associated with the periodontitis risk in a South Indians of Tamil ethnicity.Clinical Trial Registration Number: (CTRI/2021/03/032412).