Abstract: BACKGROUND ＆AIM: To study the relationship between polymorphisms of methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase C677T and hyperuricemia in males . MATERLALS AND METHODS: A case-control study was conducted with 91 males with hyperuricemia and 81 males as control. Anthropometric, blood pressure and biochemical variables, including serum lipids, glucose,serum uric acid, creatinine and urea nitrogen were measured. MTHFR genotypes were detected by DNA microarray technology. RESULTS: The frequency of MTHFR T allele among the cases(50.5％) was significantly higher than the controls(38.8％)(P=0.028),the odds ratios for hyperuricemia was 1.615. Uric acid , triglyceride concentrations and body mass index were markedly higher in subjects with TT genotype than in subjects with CC genotype(P<0.05), homozygotes for the MTHFR mutation had a significantly higher mean uric acid level (458.69±128.51 μmol/L)than those without mutation(392.77±118.90 μmol/L,P<0.05), whereas heterozygotes had an intermediate value (411.28±118.34 μmol/L). CONCLUSION: MTHFR C677T mutation may be considered a risk factor for hyperuricemia in Chinese males.

Key words: hyperuricemia, MTHFR, polymorphisms