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C-reactive protein gene polymorphisms, C-reactive protein blood levels, and cardiovascular disease risk

Fadi G Hage1, Alexander J Szalai

  • 1Department of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, Alabama, USA. fadihage@uab.edu

Journal of the American College of Cardiology
|September 18, 2007
PubMed

Insights

C-reactive protein (CRP) gene variations strongly influence blood CRP levels, a key inflammation marker. These genetic differences may impact cardiovascular disease risk and offer future clinical utility for risk assessment.

Area of Science:

  • Biochemistry
  • Genetics
  • Cardiovascular Medicine

Background:

  • C-reactive protein (CRP) is a blood marker for inflammation and acute-phase response.
  • CRP is a known predictor of cardiovascular event risk in healthy individuals.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review C-reactive protein (CRP) gene polymorphisms.
  • To discuss the impact of CRP gene variations on CRP epidemiology and cardiovascular disease (CVD).
  • To examine the clinical usefulness of CRP gene profiling.

Main Methods:

  • Review of existing literature on CRP gene polymorphisms.
  • Analysis of associations between CRP gene variations and cardiovascular disease correlates.

Main Results:

  • Subtle variations in the CRP gene sequence, primarily single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), predictably and strongly influence blood CRP levels.
  • Certain CRP gene variations are associated with clinical indicators of cardiovascular disease.

Conclusions:

  • CRP gene polymorphisms significantly affect CRP levels.
  • CRP gene profiling may have future clinical utility for assessing cardiovascular disease risk if causality is confirmed.

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