ABSTRACT: OBJECTIVE:Atherosclerosis plays a key role in the inducibility and persistence of coronary heart disease. Clinical evidence, in vitro and in vivo studies have implicated Urotensin II (U-II/UTS2) in the development of atherosclerosis and coronary artery disease, contributing to the (patho) physiological regulation of cardiovascular homeostasis in humans. Increased U-II plasma levels have been reported in patients with atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. Considering these, our objective was to evaluate possible role of the UTS2 gene polymorphisms (Thr21Met and Ser89Asn) in the genetic susceptibility to coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction in a Chinese population. METHODS:A case-control study was designed to compare the distribution of alleles and genotypes between case group (subjects with myocardial infarction, n=409) and control group (subjects with coronary heart disease, n=830). The detection of UTS2 gene polymorphisms was achieved with PCR-RFLP technique. RESULTS:We did not identify statistically significant differences between the myocardial infarction and coronary heart disease groups, neither with regard to the frequency of genotype/variant at the Ser89Asn locus nor at the Thr21Met locus. When stratified by sex, differences in genotype distribution of polymorphism Ser89Asn were only seen in female subjects in both additive tested inheritance model (OR=0.257, 95% CI: 0.074-0.896, P=0.033) and recessive tested inheritance model (OR=0.280, 95% CI: 0.082-0.955, P=0.042). For subjects with myocardial infarction, we identified statistically significant differences between the ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction and non ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction groups. Differences in genotype distribution of polymorphism Ser89Asn not Thr21Met were seen in both additive tested inheritance model (OR=0.202, 95% CI: 0.049-0.833, P=0.027) and recessive tested inheritance model (OR=0.208, 95% CI: 0.052-0.835, P=0.027). When stratified by sex, differences in genotype distribution of polymorphism Ser89Asn were only seen in male subjects in both additive tested inheritance model (OR=0.208, 95% CI: 0.049-0.890, P=0.034) and recessive tested inheritance model (OR=0.197, 95% CI: 0.047-0.824, P=0.026). CONCLUSIONS:Ser89Asn (S89N) polymorphisms of the UTS2 gene were significantly associated with coronary heart disease and myocardial infarction in Chinese population. Additionally, we demonstrated that Genotype Asn89Asn may imply a potential benefit role for myocardial infarction.
