Lack of an association between connexin-37, stromelysin-1, plasminogen activator-inhibitor type 1 and lymphotoxin-alpha genes and acute coronary syndrome in Czech Caucasians.
BACKGROUND
The majority of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) cases cannot be explained by the analysis of commonly recognized risk factors; thus, the analysis of possible genetic predispositions is of interest. The genes for connexin-37, stromelysin-1, plasminogen activator-inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) and lymphotoxin-alpha are among many presently known candidate genes that are associated with risk factors for ACS.


OBJECTIVE
To identify the potential impact of the functional variants of connexin-37, stromelysin-1, PAI-1 and lymphotoxin-alpha on ACS in a Caucasian Czech population.


METHODS
A total of 1399 consecutive patients (1016 men and 383 women) with ACS from five coronary care units located in Prague (Czech Republic) were analyzed; a representative sample of 2559 healthy individuals (1191 men and 1368 women) were also genotyped and served as controls.


RESULTS
The gene variants analyzed were not significantly associated with the prevalence of ACS or the classical risk factors of ACS development such as high plasma lipid levels, hypertension, diabetes, high body mass index or smoking.


CONCLUSIONS
In a Caucasian Czech population sample, genetic variants of connexin-37, stromelysin-1, PAI-1 and lymphotoxin-alpha were not significantly associated with a predisposition toward ACS.
Institute for Clinical and Experimental Medicine;
Jaroslav Alois
JA
Hubacek
Vladimír
V
Staněk
Marie
M
Gebauerová
Alexandra
A
Pilipčincová
Rudolf
R
Poledne
Michal
M
Aschermann
Hana
H
Skalická
Jana
J
Matoušková
Andreas
A
Kruger
Martin
M
Pěnička
Hana
H
Hrabáková
Josef
J
Veselka
Petr
P
Hájek
Vera
V
Lánská
Věra
V
Adámková
Jan
J
Pit'ha