CETP -629C>A polymorphism is not among the genetic determinants of coronary artery disease in Turks despite its HDL cholesterol effect (Cell Biochem Funct 2009)

In Turkish population, plasma HDL-C levels were found to be lower than in any other country and it is suggested that this is associated with genetic origin. The cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) -629C > A polymorphism is associated with lower plasma CETP concentration, with increased HDL-C level. In the present study, the frequency of -629C > A polymorphism in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) was investigated and the effect of genotype on HDL-C was evaluated in a Turkish population. For this aim CETP -629C > A polymorphism was studied in angiographically documented CAD patients and healthy controls. There was no statistical significance in the distribution of genotypes between patients and controls. Although A allele carriers with CAD had significantly lower HDL-C levels than controls, plasma lipid levels showed no difference according to the genotypes. Adjustment by a logistic regression model predicting CAD status through HDL-C and including some risk factors as covariate indicated that the HDL-C doesn't have a significant association with CAD risk in CA and AA genotype carriers. Smoking, gender and hypertension were the common predictors for the HDL-C levels in CA and AA carriers. Although HDL-C appeared to be the only significant predictor of CAD in our study groups, the contribution of CETP -629C > A polymorphism to the alterations in HDL-C level appears to be weak to mention a protective effect of this polymorphism for CAD. In conclusion, the findings of the present study indicate that the CETP -629C > A polymorphism is not among the determinants of the coronary artery disease in Turks.