Association between MMP-3 and MMP-9 polymorphisms and coronary artery disease

Matrix metalloproteinase (MMP)-3 and MMP-9 polymorphisms are characterized by plaque stability in coronary arteries. The aim of the current study was to investigate the 5A/6A polymorphism in the MMP-3 gene and C/T polymorphism in the MMP-9 gene in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). The study population consisted of 400 patients who underwent coronary angiography. There were two groups consisting of 200 consecutive patients with CAD, presenting with stable angina pectoris, and 200 consecutive patients exhibiting normal coronary arteries. Two single nucleotide polymorphisms in the MMP gene, MMP-3 and MMP-9, were detected using a polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism assay. Mean age, gender distribution, smoking status, presence of diabetes mellitus and hypercholesterolemia were identified to be similar between the groups. One hundred and twenty seven (63.5%) patients had hypertension in the CAD group, whereas only 55 (27.5%) patients had hypertension in the control group (P<0.001). No significant difference in frequency of alleles and genotypes of MMP-9 C→T between the CAD and control groups was identified. The 5A allele frequency of MMP-3 in the CAD group was significantly higher when compared with the control group (P<0.001; odds ratio=2.18). The genotype frequency of MMP-3 5A/5A in the CAD group was significantly higher when compared with the controls (P=0.005). When compared with the homozygous wild-type (6A/6A) genotype of the MMP-3 gene, the cumulative frequency of heterozygote and homozygote genotypes of the MMP-3 gene was significantly higher in the CAD compared with the control group (P<0.001). Thus, the present study demonstrated that the 5A/5A and 6A/5A+5A/5A genotypes of the MMP-3 gene were associated with an increased risk of CAD.