Analysis of CD40 gene polymorphism associated with acute coronary syndrome

Objective To investigate the correlation between the CD40 gene( - 1 C/T)single nucleotide polymorphism(SNP) and acute coronary syndromes(ACS), and the expression of CD40 on platelets. Method A total of 562 patients with ACS canfirmed by coronary angiography were divided into 3 groups according to the clinical characteristics, namely ACS patients( n = 210), stable angina(SA) patients( n = 189) and control group( n = 163).ACS was defined as ischemic chest pain at rest resulting in admission to hospital and > 50% stenosis in a major coronary artery with or without a rise in troponin Ⅰ. SA was defined as stable effort-related angina without change in angina pattern in 3 months. Patients with infection, tumor, or liver or kidney disease were excluded The gene polymorphism was measured by the polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism(PCR-RFIP) and identiffed by sequencing. The expression of CD40 on platelets was detected by flow cytometry. The frequency, distribution of genotypes was compared using cross-tabulation and standard X~2 test. Result The CC genotype(31% ) and C allele of frequency(57.9%)of CD40 gene in ACS patients were significantly higher than those in SA(15.9%, 43.1% ) and control groups( 16.1%, 42.6% ). No significant difference of the genotypes or allele frequencies was found between SA and control group(X~2 = 0.053, P = 0.974;X~2 = 0.017, P = 0.897). 1he expression of CD40 on platelets in patients with C alleles carries was significandy higher than that of T allele carries in each group( P <0.0001). Conclusions CD40- 1C/T polymorphism was associated with ACS in Chinese Han nationallity. Key words: Acute coronary syndrome;  Single nucleotide polymorphism;  CD40