Are the T/C Polymorphism of the <i>CYP17</i> Gene and the Tetranucleotide Repeat (TTTA) Polymorphism of the <i>CYP19</i> Gene Genetic Markers for Premature Coronary Artery Disease in Caucasians?

Letonja, M.; Peterlin, B.; Bregar, D.; Petrovič, Daniel

doi:10.14712/fb2005051030076

Fol. Biol. 2005, 51, 76-81

https://doi.org/10.14712/fb2005051030076

Are the T/C Polymorphism of the CYP17 Gene and the Tetranucleotide Repeat (TTTA) Polymorphism of the CYP19 Gene Genetic Markers for Premature Coronary Artery Disease in Caucasians?

M. Letonja¹, B. Peterlin², D. Bregar³, Daniel Petrovič³

¹Department of Internal Medicine, General Hospital of Ptuj, Ptuj, Slovenia
²Division of Medical Genetics, Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, University Medical Centre, Ljubljana, Slovenia
³Institute of Histology and Embryology, Medical Faculty, University of Ljubljana, Ljubljana, Slovenia

Received February 2005
Accepted April 2005

Gender differences in CAD have been clearly documented, and sex hormones have been recognized to influence the risk of CAD. The cytochrome P450c17α αgene (CYP17) and the CYP19 gene influence concentrations of sex hormones. In this cross-sectional association study we tested the hypothesis whether the T/C polymorphism of the CYP17 gene and the tetranucleotide repeat (TTTA) polymorphism of the CYP19 gene are genetic markers for CAD in Caucasians. The TT genotype of the CYP17 gene polymorphism was not associated with premature CAD in men and women combined (OR 0.9; 95% CI = 0.6–1.4; P = 0.7), in men only (OR 1; 95% CI = 0.6–1.8; P = 0.7), and in women only (OR 0.8; 95% CI = 0.5–1.4; P = 0.4). The tetranucleotide repeat (TTTA) CYP19 gene polymorphism was not associated with premature CAD. Moreover, the genotypes containing the longer alleles (A6 or A7) were not associated with a lower incidence of CAD, and the genotypes containing the shorter alleles (A1 or A2) were not over-represented in the CAD patients. We may conclude that in Caucasian subjects neither the T/C CYP17 gene polymorphism nor the tetranucleotide repeat (TTTA) polymorphism of the CYP19 gene contributes to the genetic susceptibility to CAD, therefore they may not be used as genetic markers for CAD risk assessment.