NADPH Oxidase Gene Polymorphism is Associated with Mortality and Cardiovascular Events in 7-Year Follow-Up.

The 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 polymorphisms. Thus, we recruited 1197 subjects with coronary atherosclerosis and observed them during 7-year follow-up. Three polymorphisms: c.214C>T (rs4673), c.-932G>A (rs9932581), and c.*24G>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 c.214C>T polymorphism and two end points: death and PCI/CABG. c.214TT genotype was associated with a lower risk of death than C allele (9.5% vs. 21%, < 0.05) and a higher risk of PCI/CABG than C allele (69.3% vs. 51.7%, < 0.01). This suggests that the c.214TT genotype may be a protective factor against death OR = 0.47 (95%CI 0.28-0.82; < 0.01), while also being a risk factor for an elective PCI/CABG OR = 2.36 (95%CI 1.15-4.82; < 0.05). Thus, we hypothesize that among patients with coronary atherosclerosis, the 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.