title: Absence of the α(2c)-adrenoceptor Del322-325 allele is associated with increased mortality in patients with chronic systolic heart failure.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The Del322-325 polymorphism of the α(2c)-adrenoceptor is considered to be a possible risk factor for heart failure (HF). We investigated the possible clinical association between the presence or absence of the deletion allele and mortality.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 261 chronic systolic HF patients evaluated, 216 (83%) carried no α(2c)-adrenoceptor Del322-325 alleles (designated II); 28 patients (11%) were heterozygous (ID) and 17 patients (6%) homozygous (DD) for the deletion. Similar genetic distribution of α(2c)-adrenoceptor Del322-325 subgroups was found in a control group of 96 healthy individuals. Mortality was significantly higher in HF patients in whom the deletion allele was absent than in HF patients who carried it: 67 (31%) patients in the II subgroup died compared with 7 (15.5%) in the ID/DD subgroup (P = .01). The odds ratio for death in HF patients who carried no α(2c)-adrenoceptor Del322-325 alleles compared with HF patients with ≥1 allele was 2.45 (95% confidence interval 1.04‒5.74). There were no differences in other relevant clinical parameters between the 2 subgroups of HF patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The mortality rate of chronic systolic HF patients carrying no α(2c)-adrenoceptor Del322-325 alleles was significantly higher (almost 2.5-fold) than that of HF patients carrying ≥1 allele.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Lady Davis Carmel Medical Center and Ruth and Bruce Rappaport School of Medicine, Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, Haifa, Israel. offeram@012.net.il
authors.forename: Offer
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Amir
authors.forename: Yoav
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Smith
authors.forename: Barak
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Zafrir
authors.forename: Naiel
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Azzam
authors.forename: Basil S
authors.initials: BS
authors.lastname: Lewis
authors.forename: Fuad
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fares
mesh_terms: D000483:Alleles; D001483:Base Sequence; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005260:Female; D005838:Genotype; D054143:Heart Failure, Systolic / Q000401:mortality*; D006579:Heterozygote; D006720:Homozygote; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D018341:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2 / Q000235:genetics*; D017384:Sequence Deletion
chemical_list: D018341:Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2