Effect of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) gene polymorphism in Turkish patients with premature coronary artery disease

Objectives. It has been suggested that monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is important in the initiation of atherosclerosis and crucial in monocyte recruitment into the subendothelial lesions. Recent studies have demonstrated that MCP-1 -2518 A>G polymorphism is associated with susceptibility to coronary artery disease (CAD). Since there are conflicting reports on the possible association of MCP-1 -2518 A>G polymorphism with CAD, we investigated the role of this polymorphism in Turkish patients with premature CAD. Material and methods. Genomic DNA was collected from 171 premature CAD patients and 151 healthy individuals. MCP-1 -2518 A>G polymorphism was genotyped using the PCR-RFLP method. Results. There were no differences between genotype distribution and allele frequencies in the premature CAD and control groups (AA: 49.7%; AG: 40.3%; GG: 10.0% in premature CAD groups and AA: 53.7%; AG: 34.4%; GG: 11.9% in controls; p = 0.53). The prevalence of the G allele was 0.302 in patients and 0.291 in controls. Conclusions. Our data demonstrate that MCP-1 -2518 A>G polymorphism is not associated with premature CAD in Turkish patients. Further studies are needed to elucidate the role of this polymorphism in the pathogenesis of CAD in various populations.