Association of a T29→C Polymorphism of the Transforming Growth Factor-β1 Gene With Genetic Susceptibility to Myocardial Infarction in Japanese

Background —Transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β) is an important regulator of vascular remodeling and is involved in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. A T→C transition at nucleotide 29 of the TGF-β1 gene results in a Leu→Pro substitution at amino acid 10 of the signal peptide. We have now examined a possible association of TGF-β1 genotype with myocardial infarction (MI) in a Japanese population. Methods and Results — TGF-β1 genotype was determined in 315 Japanese patients (234 men and 81 women) with MI and 591 control subjects (289 men and 302 women). We found that age, body mass index, and incidence of habitual smoking, hypertension, diabetes mellitus, and hypercholesterolemia did not differ between the 2 groups for either men or women. Multivariable logistic regression analysis, however, demonstrated the frequency of the T allele to be significantly higher in male subjects with MI than in controls ( TT + TC versus CC ; P T allele was not associated with the prevalence of MI in women. In both male MI patients and controls, the serum concentration of TGF-β1 was significantly higher in individuals with the CC genotype than in subjects with the TT or TC genotype. Conclusions —Findings suggest that the T allele at nucleotide 29 in the TGF-β1 gene is a risk factor for genetic susceptibility to MI, at least in middle-aged Japanese men.