CARDIAC ALLOGRAFT VASCULAR DISEASE AFTER ORTHOTOPIC HEART TRANSPLANTATION

BACKGROUND Recently, homocysteine (HCY) levels have been suggested to be a risk factor in cardiac allograft vascular disease (CAVD). As plasma levels are partially under genetic control, we investigated the influence of the methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) polymorphism on HCY levels and development of CAVD in heart transplant (HTX) recipients. METHODS Genotyping and assessment of fasting HCY levels were performed in a cohort of 146 HTX recipients and correlated to the onset and progression of CAVD, assessed by serial angiography. RESULTS Actuarial freedom from CAVD did not differ significantly between the genotypes. However, patients positive for CAVD presented with higher HCY levels than CAVD-negative individuals (21.0+/-9.4 vs. 18.2+/-6.6 micromol/L, P=0.046). CONCLUSIONS There is some evidence that plasma HCY might be involved in development of CAVD. However, polymorphism of the MTHFR gene could not be shown to be related to severity of allograft vascular disease.