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Cardiovascular (CV) events are the number one cause of lifetime disability and deaths worldwide. It is well known that traditional risk factors do not fully correlate with clinical outcomes; therefore, searching for other markers that would explain CV events’ occurrence seems essential. Of importance, one of the main factors at the origin of CV events is oxidative stress, causing inflammation and atherosclerotic plaque instability. Therefore, the present study was conducted to evaluate eight carefully selected genetic polymorphisms related to oxidative stress as risk modifiers for CV events. A cohort of 1020 patients with coronary atherosclerosis was analysed in a 7-year follow-up observational study. The following end points were assessed: CV death, myocardial infarction (MI) and a combined end point of CV death/MI/stroke. Our results show that single polymorphisms are not significant cardiovascular disease risk factors, but genetic risk score (GRS), defined as the accumulation of our eight studied polymorphisms, was significantly associated with the three. Specifically, low GRS was associated with a higher risk of CV death, MI and CV death/MI/stroke. In conclusion, when regarding CV events, GRS investigated here can become clinically meaningful and undoubtedly adds to the knowledge in stratifying the risk of CV events.

Oxidative stress is believed to play a critical role in atherosclerosis initiation and progression. In line with this, in a group of 1099 subjects, we determined eight single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) related to oxidative stress (PON1 c.575A&gt, G, MPO c.&minus, 463G&gt, A, SOD2 c.47T&gt, C, GCLM c.&minus, 590C&gt, T, NOS3 c.894G&gt, T, NOS3 c.&minus, 786T&gt, C, CYBA c.214C&gt, T, and CYBA c.&minus, 932A&gt, G) and assessed the extent of atherosclerosis in coronary arteries based on Gensini score. An increased risk of having a Gensini score in the higher half of the distribution was observed for the PON1 c.575G allele (odds ratio (OR) = 1.27, 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.004&ndash, 1.617, p = 0.046). Next, the genetic risk score (GRS) for the additive effect of the total number of pro-oxidative alleles was assessed. We noted an increase in the risk of having a Gensini score above the median with the maximum number of risk alleles (OR = 2.47, 95% CI: 1.19&ndash, 5.23, p = 0.014). A univariate Spearman&rsquo, s test revealed significant correlation between the total number of pro-oxidant alleles (GRS) and the Gensini score (&rho, = 0.068, p = 0.03). In conclusion, the PON1 c.575A&gt, G variant and the high number of risk alleles (GRS) were independent risk factors for a high Gensini score. We suggest, however, that GRS might occur as a more valuable component in adding a predictive value to the genetic background of atherosclerosis.

The CYBA gene encodes the regulatory subunit of NADPH oxidase, which maintains the redox state within cells and in the blood vessels. That led us to investigate the course of coronary artery disease (CAD) with regards to CYBA polymorphisms. Thus, we recruited 1197 subjects with coronary atherosclerosis and observed them during 7-year follow-up. Three CYBA polymorphisms: c.214C&gt, T (rs4673), c.-932G&gt, A (rs9932581), and c.*24G&gt, A (1049255) were studied for an association with death, major adverse cardiovascular events (MACE) and an elective percutaneous coronary intervention or coronary artery bypass grafting (PCI/CABG). We found an association between the CYBA c.214C&gt, T polymorphism and two end points: death and PCI/CABG. CYBA c.214TT genotype was associated with a lower risk of death than C allele (9.5% vs. 21%, p &lt, 0.05) and a higher risk of PCI/CABG than C allele (69.3% vs. 51.7%, p &lt, 0.01). This suggests that the CYBA c.214TT genotype may be a protective factor against death OR = 0.47 (95%CI 0.28&ndash, 0.82, p &lt, 0.01), while also being a risk factor for an elective PCI/CABG OR = 2.36 (95%CI 1.15&ndash, 4.82, 0.05). Thus, we hypothesize that among patients with coronary atherosclerosis, the CYBA c.214TT genotype contributes to atherosclerotic plaque stability by altering the course of CAD towards chronic coronary syndrome, thereby lowering the incidence of fatal CAD-related events.