Tissue factor pathway inhibitor polymorphisms in women with and without a history of venous thrombosis and the effects of postmenopausal hormone therapy.

Postmenopausal hormone therapy is associated with marked reduction in tissue factor pathway inhibitor (TFPI) levels, and low TFPI levels have been associated with increased risk of venous thrombosis. Polymorphisms in the TFPI gene may affect the expression of TFPI. We aimed to investigate the influences of such polymorphisms on plasma TFPI levels and to investigate the effect of hormone therapy. Four single nucleotide polymorphisms in the TFPI gene (the -287T/C and the -399C/T polymorphisms in the 5' upstream region, and the intron 7 -33T/C and the exon 9 874G/A polymorphisms) were studied with regard to frequency, phenotype, and their influence on hormone therapy in postmenopausal women with a history of venous thrombosis (n = 138), in healthy postmenopausal women (n = 202), and in normal controls (n = 212). The frequencies of the -287C and the -33C variants were nonsignificantly lower in cases than in controls, and the polymorphisms were associated with slightly higher levels of free TFPI antigen (-287C; P = 0.076) and higher TFPI activity (-33C; P < 0.001). The -399T variant showed equal distribution in cases and controls, but was associated with lower levels of TFPI activity (P = 0.036). Conventional-dose hormone therapy induced significant reductions in TFPI levels irrespective of genotypes. In healthy women treated with low-dose hormone therapy, the reduction in TFPI levels was less pronounced with the -287C variant (P = 0.054). Our study indicates that polymorphisms in the TFPI gene may be of importance for plasma TFPI levels and for the effects of hormone therapy.