Associations of rs1883832 and rs4810485 polymorphisms of CD40 gene with myocardial infarction in the Tunisian population.

Cluster of differentiation 40 (CD40), and its ligand CD40L, are major co-stimulatory molecules whose interactions are important in both cellular and humoral immunity, and has been suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of acute coronary syndrome. The aim of this study was to examine the association of CD40 polymorphisms (-1 C>T (rs1883832) and 945G>T (rs4810485)) and myocardial infarction (MI), and to test the association of CD40 gene haplotypes with MI in Tunisians. Three hundred and fifty MI patients and 301 apparently healthy controls were included in the study. The polymorphisms of CD40 were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). There were significant differences in the genotype and allele frequencies of CD40 gene -1 C>T (rs1883832) polymorphism between cases and controls. Stratifying according to gender, the association between the TT genotype and MI was statistically significant in males, only. Haplotype analysis revealed that the C-T and T-G haplotypes were associated with an increased risk of MI ( = 0.012 and  < 0.001, respectively). Our work showed a significant association between the -1 C>T (rs1883832) polymorphism of the CD40 gene and MI in the Tunisians.