Abstract

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the single greatest cause of death worldwide. Although CAD is highly heritable, the DNA sequence variations that confer cardiovascular risk remain largely unknown. Definition of the genetic architecture of CAD can provide substantial benefits through improved risk prediction and development of novel therapies. Genome-wide association studies of coronary artery disease have recently identified a new susceptibility locus, ADAMTS-7, in subjects of European ancestry. However, the significance of this locus in Iranian populations has not been identified. This study was designed to evaluate the effect of rs1994016, a non-synonymous variant in the prodomain of the ADAMTS-7 protease, on CAD risk and atherosclerosis severity in an Iranian population. Genetic performed association analyses through TaqMan probe real time PCR technique in a case-control cohort, which included a total of 200 participants. Based on angiography test results and biochemical characteristics, participants were divided into two case and control groups (more than 50 stenosis in coronary arteries was considered as case (n=100), and less than 50 stenosis in coronary arteries was considered as control (n=100). Blood samples were collected and DNA was extracted for evaluation of rs1994016. Final results and clinical and biomedical characteristics were analyzed statistically. According to the data, ADAMTS-7 rs1994016 was significantly associated with susceptibility to CAD in the studied population of patients with CAD odds ratio (OR) = 0.013, 95 % confidence interval (CI) = 0.003-0.059, P < 0.001. The frequency of the T mutant allele was considerably higher in the case group. (T allele Frequency in cases: 0.81 and in controls: 0.1). These results suggested ADAMTS-7 rs1994016 were associated with susceptibility to CAD in Iranian population.