Cholesteryl ester transfer protein gene polymorphisms and severity of coronary stenosis

Cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) gene is involved in the reverse cholesterol transport in humans. Thus, it is a candidate for studying the susceptibility to coronary heart disease (CHD). The goal of the current investigation was to determine any association between CETP polymorphisms (I405V and TaqIB), and severity of coronary stenosis, since the extent of coronary artery narrowing has been considered as a primary determinant of survival in CHD patients.

The severity of coronary stenosis was estimated by Gensini (GS) and Duke Jeopardy (JS) scores in 130 men with documented CHD (mean age 61 +/- 10 yr). Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism analysis.

The allele frequencies for both TaqIB and I405V were found in Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Homozygotes for I had lower GS compared with heterozygotes (IV) and homozygotes for V [72(95% CI 51-92) vs. 122(95% CI 88-157) and 136 (95% CI 74-198), P = 0.009, P = 0.010, respectively]. In addition, GS differed between carriers of I and carriers of V allele [86(95% CI 72-101) vs. 128(95% CI 102-154), P = 0.003]. A correlation was found between the GS and I405V polymorphism (r = 0.250, P = 0.005), but not with JS.

Homozygosity for I405 favours less severe coronary stenosis. Our findings indicate that the I405V polymorphism may have potential importance in screening individuals at high risk for developing CHD, establishing efficient prevention measures, and searching for other risk factors for CHD. However, further prospective investigations in larger populations are required to confirm these findings.