title: Association between leukocyte mitochondrial DNA content and risk of coronary heart disease: a case-control study.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Compelling epidemiological evidence indicates that alterations of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), including mutations and abnormal content of mtDNA, are associated with the initiation and development of cardiovascular disease. This study was undertaken to investigate whether mtDNA content in peripheral blood leukocytes (PBLs) could be used as a risk predictor for coronary heart disease (CHD).
  
  
  METHODS
  The mtDNA content of PBLs from 378 CHD patients and 378 matched healthy controls was measured using quantitative real-time PCR-based method in a case-control study. An unconditional multivariate logistic regression model was applied to estimate the association between leukocyte mtDNA content and CHD risk.
  
  
  RESULTS
  CHD patients exhibited notably lower mtDNA content than matched healthy controls (median, 0.65 vs. 0.86; P < 0.001). Compared with individuals who had high mtDNA content, individuals who had low mtDNA content had a significantly increased risk of CHD (adjusted OR, 2.38; 95% confidence interval, 1.33-4.69). A significant dose-response relation was observed between increased CHD risk and lower mtDNA content (Ptrend < 0.001). Furthermore, there was a significantly positive mtDNA content correlation between PBLs and atherosclerotic plaque tissue (ρ = 0.627, P = 0.039). In addition, a significant joint effect on the risk of CHD was noted between mtDNA content and cigarette smoking or plasma LDL-C concentration.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This present study provide the first epidemiologic evidence linking low mtDNA content in PBLs to an increased CHD risk, which warrants further investigation in other populations.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, the 323th Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China.
authors.forename: Shuying
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, the 323th Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China.
authors.forename: Xuejian
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, the 323th Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China.
authors.forename: Yujing
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, the 323th Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China.
authors.forename: Yan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, the 323th Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoli
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, the 323th Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, the 323th Hospital of PLA, Xi'an, Shaanxi, 710054, China. Electronic address: yejixian323@126.com.
authors.forename: Jixian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Ye
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003327:Coronary Disease / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000235:genetics*; D056915:DNA Copy Number Variations; D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007962:Leukocytes / Q000166:cytology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D009154:Mutation; D058226:Plaque, Atherosclerotic / Q000473:pathology*; D016133:Polymerase Chain Reaction; D012307:Risk Factors; D012907:Smoking
chemical_list: D004272:DNA, Mitochondrial
keywords: Case-control study; Coronary heart disease; Mitochondrial DNA content; Peripheral blood leukocyte; Risk