Association of interleukin-18 gene promoter polymorphisms with risk of acute myocardial infarction in northern Chinese Han population

Background: Interleukin-18 (IL-18) has been suggested to play an important role in coronary arterial disease and its sequelae. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between IL-18 promoter functional polymorphisms (-607C/A and - 137G/C) and acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in northern Chinese Han population. Methods: We performed a case-control study including 234 patients with AMI and 216 age-and sex-matched controls. Genotyping was performed using sequence specific primer-polymerase chain reaction (PCR-SSP). Results: There were significant differences in the genotype and allele distribution of -607C/A polymorphism of the IL-18 gene between cases and controls. Logistic regression analysis with adjustments for other well-established risk factors revealed that the -607C allele carriers had a significantly increased risk of AMI compared with the non-carriers (OR=1.890, 95% CI 1.196-2.985, p=0.006). No relationship between -137G/C polymorphism and AMI was found. Conclusions: This study shows for the first time that the IL-18 gene promoter -607C/A polymorphism may be considered a genetic risk factor for AMI in northern Chinese Han population. Clin Chem Lab Med 2009; 47:523-9.