Impact of CD40 gene polymorphism on coronary artery disease in an Indian population: A pilot study

Context: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is number one killer in India. CD40/CD40 L may have crucial contribution in the development of CAD because of its dual prothrombotic and proinflammatory role. However, no study has been conducted to observe the effect of CD40 gene polymorphism on CAD in Indian populations. Aims: To determine the allelic frequency of CD40 gene and its influence on Indian individuals having unstable chest pain and cardiac muscle infarction which are variants of CAD. Settings and Design: A clinic-based observational study was conducted in Maulana Azad Medical College. Eighty angiographically proven patients of CAD and fifty healthy individuals registered for this study. Materials and Methods: Polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism were used for studying CD40 gene polymorphism. Statistical Analysis Used: Frequency distribution of genotype was analyzed by standard Chi-square test using SPSS software version 21. Results: The C and T allele frequencies were 71.25% and 28.75%, respectively, in diseased individuals. Significant difference was observed among patients with CAD and healthy references regarding distribution of genotypes (χ2 = 10, P = 0.007) although allele frequencies (χ2 = 2.94, P = 0.09) of CD40 gene did not show any significance. The presence of C allele augmented the chance of having CADs compared to the wild type (odds ratio: 1.13; 95% confidence interval: 0.687–1.887). Conclusions: Important correlation was noted between rs1883832 C/T polymorphism of CD40 gene and risk of development of CADs among Indian populations.