Search

Objective: To explore the association between rs6903956 and severity of coronary artery disease (CAD) in a Chinese population. Methods:A cohort of 1075 consecutive patients who underwent coronary arteriography for suspected or known coronary atherosclerosis was enrolled in our study. Coronary atherosclerosis severity was defined by Gensini's Score System and counts of diseased vessels. Results: Gensini score frequencies and counts of diseased vessels differed among GG, AG, AA genotype groups at the rs6903956 locus (p = 0.025 for Gensini score frequencies vs. p = 0.024 for counts of diseased vessels, respectively). A univariate logistic regression analysis revealed that the genotype distribution of this SNP was associated significantly with angiographical characteristics of coronary atherosclerosis risk (p = 0.030, odds ratio (OR) = 1.444, 95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.036,2.013 for AG vs. GG; p = 0.021, OR = 5.896, 95% CI = 1.299,26.750 for AA vs. GG and p = 0.007, OR = 1.564, 95% CI = 1.132,2.162 for combined (AG+AA) vs. GG). A multivariate logistic regression analysis indicated that the genotype distribution of the rs6903956 polymorphism be associated significantly with the angiographical characteristics of coronary atherosclerosis risk (p = 0.004, OR = 1.578, 95% CI = 1.155,2.154 for GG vs. AG vs. AA; p = 0.013, OR = 1.541, 95% CI = 1.097,2.163 for GG vs. GA+ AA). A stratification analysis revealed that male subjects and smoking subjects had a higher frequency of the rs6903956 heterozygous mutant among higher Gensini score subjects than among lower Gensini score subjects (p = 0.023, OR = 1.579, 95% CI = 1.064,2.344 for male subgroup; p = 0.005, OR = 2.075, 95% CI = 1.249,3.448 for smoking subgroup). Conclusions: Allele A is a risk factor for CAD and the G-to-A allele substitution may underlie the association between rs6903956 and CAD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Polymorphisms of CHI3L1 are associated with inter-individual YKL-40 levels and YKL-40 is associated with an increased mortality and is elevated in patients with cardiovascular disease. We investigated the association between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of CHI3L1, serum YKL- 40 levels and all-cause and cardiovascular mortality and first-time incidence of myocardial infarction, ischemic heart disease (IHD) and stroke. Methodology/Principal Findings: 12 SNPs of CHI3L1 were genotyped and serum YKL- 40 was measured in 2656 Danes representative of the general population. Median follow-up period was 15 (0-16) years. Admission data and deaths were ascertained from registers from the Danish National Board of Health. Fourth quartile YKL-40 levels were associated with an increased mortality risk of ischemic stroke (HR 2.44 (1.01-5.88), p = 0.041) and so were homozygotes of the minor allele of rs872129 (HR 9.35 (1.25-69.87, p = 0.022)). Both continuous YKL-40 levels and 4th quartile YKL-40 values (>85 ng/ml) were associated with all-cause mortality (HRs 1.22 (95% CI, 1.10-1.35), p<0.0001, and 1.40 (1.15-1.71), p<0.0001), an increased risk of first-time stroke (HR 1.16(1.01-1.33), p = 0.04, and 1.63 (1.23-2.16), p = 0.001) and a decreased risk of incidence of IHD (HR 0.77 (0.65- 0.91), p = 0.002, and 0.61 (0.44-0.85), p = 0.003). Conclusions/Signficance: High YKL-40 levels (>85 ng/ml) and rs872129 were associated with an increased mortality risk of ischemic stroke, but high YKL-40 levels were also inverse related with the risk of incidence of IHD. This could be a chance finding but could also elucidate that YKL-40 plays different roles in development of thromboembolisms versus the formation of local thrombosis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]