Matrix Gla protein (MGP) promoter polymorphic variants and its serum level in stenosis of coronary artery

Although the role of matrix Gla protein (MGP) is not completely known but, its expression within subendothelial macrophages and vascular smooth muscle cells is suggested to be involved in vascular calcification. In this study, we investigated the associations between the serum MGP levels and the MGP promoter high minor allele frequency (MAF) variants with the development of stenosis in coronary arteries. Moreover, we evaluated the allele changes within predicted transcription factor elements with bioinformatics tools. 182 subjects were recruited from who underwent coronary angiography. The MGP promoter rs1800801, rs1800802 and rs1800799 genotypes and haplotypes were detected by ARMS-RFLP PCR techniques. The serum MGP concentration was measured using ELISA method. Jaspar profiles were used for scoring the polymorphic variations within the transcription factor elements. The genotype and two-allelic haplotype distributions were not significant between the patient and control groups (P > 0.05). The serum MGP levels had not significant differences between the genotypes (P > 0.1) and haplotypes (P > 0.4). Based on the prediction studies, we did not observe significant differences between the polymorphic scores in the predicted elements (P > 0.05). We concluded that the genotype and haplotype distributions of the MGP promoter high-MAF polymorphisms, as confirmed in the prediction studies and the serum MGP level are not significantly associated with the coronary artery disease. Based on the study results, the MGP protein did not play an important role in the development of stenosis of coronary arteries.