An intron polymorphism in the CXCL16 gene is associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease in Chinese Han population: a large angiography-based study.

OBJECTIVE

Experimental and clinical observations suggest that CXCL16, a recently discovered transmembrane chemokine combining functions of a chemokine and a scavenger receptor, could be an important player in atherosclerosis, but the relationship of its common variants with coronary artery disease (CAD) has not been extensively studied.

METHODS

We designed an angiography-based case-controlled study consisting of 1176 CAD patients and 850 control subjects to investigate the association between five common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of CXCL16 gene and CAD risk in Chinese Han population. The plasma concentration of CXCL16 was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

RESULTS

No significant differences were observed for the distributions of rs2250333, rs2304973, rs2277680, and rs1051009 between CAD patients and control subjects. However, both the genotype and allele frequencies of rs3744700 showed significant differences between cases and controls (P=0.001 and P<0.001, respectively). The GG homozygotes had significantly higher CAD risk compared with the T allele carriers (GT+TT) (OR, 1.77; 95% CI, 1.28-2.43; adjusted P<0.001) in a logistic regression model after adjustment for the conventional risk factors for CAD. The GG genotypes also had increased plasma CXCL16 levels compared with T allele carriers in both cases and control subjects.

CONCLUSIONS

SNP rs3744700 of CXCL16 gene is independently associated with the development of CAD in Chinese Han population, and GG homozygote which is associated with increased expression of CXCL16 may have a promoting effect on CAD.