title: Polymorphisms of the LTA gene may contribute to the risk of myocardial infarction: a meta-analysis.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The lymphotoxin-α (LTA), as one of the mediators of inflammation, may play an important role in the pathogenesis of myocardial infarction (MI). Genetic association studies (GAS) that have investigated the association between three common polymorphisms (A252G, G10A and C804A) of the LTA gene and susceptibility to MI have produced contradictory and inconclusive results. The aim of this meta-analysis is to provide a relatively comprehensive account of the association of these polymorphisms with susceptibility to MI.
  
  
  METHODS
  A literature search for eligible GAS published before October 15, 2013 was conducted in the PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, and CNKI (China National Knowledge Infrastructure) databases. We performed a meta-analysis of fifteen case-control studies with a total of 22,549 MI patients and 16,105 healthy controls.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For LTA A252G, a borderline significant overall association was found, indicating that GG genotype may confer an increased susceptibility to MI compared to AA and AG genotypes. Based on an ethnicity stratification analysis, a significant association was observed in Asians, but not in Caucasians. For LTA G10A, no significant overall association was found. However, subgroup analysis based on ethnicity suggested that the 10A allele may confer a significant increased susceptibility to MI only in Asian populations. For LTA C804A, the combined results revealed a significantly increased susceptibility to MI for carriers of the 804A allele in both overall analysis and stratified analyses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This meta-analysis shows that LTA C804A may be associated with an increased susceptibility to MI, whereas LTA A252G and G10A may confer a significant increased susceptibility to MI only in Asians. Thus, these polymorphisms of the LTA gene can probably be used with other genetic markers together to identify individuals at high susceptibility to MI especially in Asians.
authors.affiliation: First Cadres Ward, The First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Na
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: First Cadres Ward, The First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Runmei
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: First Cadres Ward, The First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Hongxia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.affiliation: First Cadres Ward, The First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Liang
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: First Cadres Ward, The First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yaxin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yin
authors.affiliation: First Cadres Ward, The First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jinjin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: First Cadres Ward, The First Affiliated Hospital of PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Yunfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xia
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D005787:Gene Frequency; D056726:Genetic Association Studies; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D006801:Humans; D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha / Q000235:genetics*; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000235:genetics*; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012306:Risk
chemical_list: D008233:Lymphotoxin-alpha