Genetics
Two CETP variants have opposite effects on coronary artery disease risk in the first such study in Saudi Arabians (Hum Genomics 2016)
Original title: The impact of common polymorphisms in CETP and ABCA1 genes with the risk of coronary artery disease in Saudi Arabians
This study examined the association of two ABCA1 polymorphisms and two CETP polymorphisms (rs5882 and rs708272) with coronary artery disease (CAD) risk in 990 angiographically confirmed Saudi CAD patients with a history of myocardial infarction and 618 controls from the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia, genotyped using TaqMan Assay. CETP rs5882 was associated with increased CAD risk (OR=1.45, P less than 0.005), while ABCA1 rs2230806 also showed increased risk (OR=1.42, P=0.017). In contrast, CETP rs708272 showed a protective effect (B1 vs B2: OR=0.80, P=0.003; B2B2 vs B1B1: OR=0.68, P=0.012), while the ABCA1 variant rs2066715 was not associated with CAD. The authors report this as the first study of these polymorphisms in this Saudi population, with rs5882 a promising CAD risk marker and rs708272 showing a protective effect.
Original abstract
Background: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Many genetic and environmental risk factors including atherogenic dyslipidemia contribute towards the development of CAD. Functionally relevant mutations in the dyslipidemia-related genes and enzymes involved in the reverse cholesterol transport system are associated with CAD and contribute to increased susceptibility of myocardial infarction (MI).
Method: Blood samples from 990 angiographically confirmed Saudi CAD patients with at least one event of myocardial infarction were collected between 2012 and 2014. A total of 618 Saudi controls with no history or family history of CAD participated in the study. Four polymorphisms, rs2230806, rs2066715 (ABCA1), rs5882, and rs708272 (CETP), were genotyped using TaqMan Assay.
Results: CETP rs5882 (OR = 1.45, P < 0.005) and ABCA1 rs2230806 (OR = 1.42, P = 0.017) polymorphisms were associated with increased risk of CAD. However, rs708272 polymorphism showed protective effect (B1 vs. B2: OR = 0.80, P = 0.003 and B2B2 vs. B1B1: OR = 0.68, P = 0.012) while the ABCA1 variant rs2066715 was not associated.
Conclusion: This study is the first to report the association of these polymorphisms with CAD in the population of the Eastern Province of Saudi Arabia. The rs5882 polymorphism (CETP) showed a significant association and therefore could be a promising marker for CAD risk estimation while the rs708272 polymorphism had a protective effect from CAD.
Summary written by cetpinhibition.org from the published abstract; figures as published. Page updated 19 August 2026. Methods.