Influence of Apo E Polymorphism on Coronary Artery Disease

The ε4 allele of the ε2, ε3 and ε4 protein isoform polymorphism in the gene encoding apolipoprotein E (Apo E) has previously been associated with increased cardiac artery disease (CAD); therefore to investigate the significance of this polymorphism in pathogenesis of CAD in Iranian patients with stenosis and control subjects. To investigate the association between  Apo E polymorphism and coronary artery disease we performed a comparative case control study of the frequency of Apo E  polymorphism in One hundred CAD patients with stenosis who underwent coronary angiography (>50% stenosis) and 100 control subjects (

Genetic Variants and Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is the condition in which an artery wall thickens as the result of a build-up of fatty materials such as cholesterol. It is a syndrome affecting arterial blood vessels, a chronic inflammatory response in the walls of arteries, in large part due to the accumulation of macrophage white blood cells and promoted by low density (especially small particle) lipoproteins (plasma proteins that carry cholesterol and triglycerides) without adequate removal of fats and cholesterol from the macrophages by functional high density lipoproteins (HDL). It is commonly referred to as a hardening or furring of the arteries. It is caused by the formation of multiple plaques within the arteries.

The Association of Matrix Metalloproteinase-3 Gene -1612 5A/6A Polymorphism with Susceptibility to Coronary Artery Stenosis in an Iranian Population

Matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP3) is key member of the MMP family, and is known to be present in coronary atherosclerotic. Several studies have demonstrated that MMP-3 5A/6A polymorphism modify each transcriptional activity in allele specific manner. We hypothesized that this polymorphism may play a role as risk factor for development of coronary stenosis. The aim of our study was to estimate MMP-3 (5A/6A) gene polymorphism on interindividual variability in risk for coronary stenosis in an Iranian population.DNA was extracted from white blood cells and genotypes were obtained from coronary stenosis cases (n=95) and controls (n=100) by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and restriction fragment length polymorphism techniques. Significant differences between cases and controls were observed for MMP3 genotype frequencies (X2=199.305, p< 0.001); the 6A allele was less frequently seen in the control group, compared to the disease group (85.79 vs. 78%, 6A/6A+5A/6A vs. 5A/5A, P≤0.001). These data imply the involvement of -1612 5A/6A polymorphism in coronary stenosis, and suggest that probably the 6A/6A MMP-3 genotype is a genetic susceptibility factor for coronary stenosis.