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Objectives: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a multifactorial disease and influenced by genetics. We previously reported that a single nucleotide polymorphism (rs11066001) in the BRAP gene was related to the risk of myocardial infarction. However, it is unclear whether rs11066001 is associated with the extent of coronary atherosclerosis. Methods: We enrolled 732 patients scheduled for diagnostic coronary angiography. Angiographic presence of significant CAD (0 or 1), clinical vessel score (CVS, 0-3 vessels) and diffuse score (DS, 0-11.5) were used to evaluate the extent of coronary atherosclerosis. Genotyping was carried out by the TaqMan technology. Results: Of all patients, 558 (76.2%) had significant CAD. The odds ratio for the GG to the AA genotype was 2.45 (95% CI 1.13-5.34, p = 0.024) for the presence of significant CAD. The CVS was correlated with the frequency of genotypes in the recessive model (p = 0.001). Regression analysis showed a significant association between rs11066001 and the presence of significant CAD and DS (all p < 0.05). There was a synergistic effect between rs11066001 and diabetes on the occurrence of significant CAD (p < 0.001 for interaction). Conclusion: The BRAP rs11066001 gene is associated with the extent of coronary atherosclerosis and has a synergistic effect with diabetes on the occurrence of significant CAD in the Chinese population. Copyright © 2011 S. Karger AG, Basel [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Oxidative stress (OS) is related to vascular inflammation possibly, contributing to the development of coronary ectasia (CE). Base excision repair (BER) and nucleotide excision repair are the main DNA repair pathways that can help to remove 8-hydroxydeoxyguanine (8-OHdG), a marker of OS. Human 8-oxoguanine DNA glycosylase 1 (hOGG1) is a key enzyme of the BER pathway and catalyzes the removal of 8-OHdG. The aim of our study was to investigate the association between hOGG1 Ser326Cys gene polymorphism and CE in a Chinese population. Five-hundred forty-seven patients who underwent diagnostic coronary angiography in a tertiary medical center were recruited. The angiographic definition of CE is the diameter of the ectatic segment being more than 1.5 times larger compared with an adjacent healthy reference segment. The gene polymorphisms were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction. The urine 8OHdG concentration was measured using a commercial ELISA kit. The distribution of hOGG1 Ser326Cys genotypes was significantly different between CE and non-CE groups (p = 0.033). The odds ratio of CE development for the Ser to the Cys variant was 1.55 (95% confidence interval (CI), 1.04-2.31, p = 0.033). Both univariate and logistic regression analysis showed a significant association of hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism in the dominant model with CE development (p = 0.009 and 0.011, respectively). Urine 8-OHdG levels were significantly higher in subjects carrying the hOGG1 Ser variant than in those with the Cys/Cys genotype (p < 0.03). In conclusion, our study suggests that the hOGG1 Ser326Cys gene variant might play a role in susceptibility to the development of CE.

Objectives: To test the association between angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion or deletion (I/D) polymorphism and decline of renal function in people aged 60 and older., Design: Population-based prospective study with 4-year follow-up., Setting: Department of Internal Medicine and Family Medicine, Kaohsiung Medical University (KMU) Hospital and Graduate Institute of Medicine and Public Health, KMU., Participants: Of 1,500 people screened, 193 subjects were enrolled, and 144 completed 4 years of follow-up, 112 non-diabetic normotensive elderly people were analyzed., Measurements: Subjects received biochemistry examination at baseline and at 2- and 4-year follow-ups. Serum creatinine and calculated renal parameters, including the Cockroft-Gault (CG) formula, the Jelliffe formula, and the Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) Study equation, were used. Genetic polymorphism was analyzed according to the polymerase chain reaction., Results: The mean age+/-standard deviation of the subjects was 71.9+/-3.7 (range 60-81). Serum creatinine, CG creatinine clearance (CrCl), Jelliffe CrCl, and MDRD glomerular filtration rate (GFR) were significantly lower at the 2- and 4-year follow-ups (all P < or = .001). At the 4-year follow-up, the magnitude of declines of the above four renal parameters was significantly higher in subjects with the ACE D allele than in the non-D-allele carriers (P = .01, .01, .04, and .01 for creatinine, CG CrCl, Jelliffe CrCl, and MDRD GFR, respectively). This association was still significant in multivariate analyses (P < or = .02 for all parameters)., Conclusion: This longitudinal study showed the ACE I/D gene polymorphism might modulate renal function decline in elderly Chinese. This provides further knowledge essential in the assessment of renal disease and determination of renal function in older Chinese.

Background: There has not been a longitudinal investigation of the influence of angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion and angiotensinogen (AGT) M235T gene polymorphisms on repolarization parameters, such as QT dispersion (QTd) and the peak and the end of the T-wave interval (Tpe)., Methods and Results: Electrocardiographys were recorded from 106 elderly Chinese at baseline, and 2nd and 4th year follow-up. The corrected QT (QTc), QTd, QTc dispersion (QTcd) and Tpe were manually calculated. Average age was 72.7+/-4.1 years (range 62-81). QTd, QTcd and Tpe were significantly prolonged (all p<0.001 at the 2nd and 4th year). At the 4th year the magnitude of the QTd prolongation, but not Tpe, was significantly higher in subjects carrying the ACE D allele than non-D-allele carriers (p=0.001), as was QTcd (p=0.002). This association was still significant in the multivariate analyses (p<0.001 and p=0.001 for QTc and QTcd, respectively). No significant correlation was found between repolarization parameters and AGT genotype., Conclusions: This longitudinal study shows that the ageing process is associated with prolongation of QTd, QTcd and Tpe after 4 years follow-up. The elderly Chinese subjects with the ACE D-allele had greater prolongation QTd and QTcd.