Abstract:
Background. C242T polymorphism of the p22 phox gene, an essential component of NAD(P)H oxidase in vasculature, and Glu298Asp polymorphism of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene have been recently implicated as genetic markers for acute myocardial infarction (AMI) in many studies. The aim of this study is to collect information about the prevalence of these two polymorphisms and their relationship with occurrence of early onset AMI in Egyptian populations. Methods. The study subjects consisted of 104 AMI patients and 101 aged matched volunteers. Genotyping of both genes was done by the polymerase chain reaction- restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. Results. The genotype distribution for NAD(P)H oxidase p22 phox gene was significantly different between AMI patients (CC;41.3%, CT;58.7%, TT;0%) and control subjects (CC;27%, CT;72%, TT;1%) (P=0.026), whereas eNOS gene distribution was not significantly different between AMI patients (GG;49%, GT;45.2%, TT;5.8%) and control subjects ( GG;58.4%, GT;33.6%, TT;7.9%) (P= 0.367). Conclusions. The prevalence of the CT+TT genotype of the C242T polymorphism was significantly more frequent in control subjects than in AMI patients. Our observations suggest that C242T polymorphism of the p22 phox gene of NAD(P)H oxidase may reduce susceptibility to AMI and is a novel genetic marker that has a protective effect on coronary risk while no significant association was observed between the Glu298Asp polymorphism of eNOS gene and incidence of AMI in this Egyptian population group
