RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: Glu298 Asp polymorphism of endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS) gene has been recently implicated as a genetic marker for coronary artery disease (CAD) in some studies. There is no information on the prevalence of this polymorphism and its relationship with CAD in south Indian population. METHODS: A case control study was performed for the determination of the influence of Glu298 Asp polymorphism of eNOS gene in Tamilian population of south India. The study subjects comprised of 100 angiographically proven CAD patients and 100 age- and sex-matched volunteers asymptomatic for CAD, with a low coronary risk score. Genotyping of the eNOS gene was done by the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR RFLP) method. RESULTS: The genotype distribution was not significantly different between CAD (GG; 72, GT; 26, TT; 2) and control subjects (GG; 79, GT; 18, TT; 3). The corresponding allele frequencies were G 0.85, T 0.15 and G 0.88, T 0.12, respectively. The odds ratio for the association of CAD with the Asp variant failed to achieve statistical significance (OR = 0.66; 95% CI: 0.11-4.04, P = 1.0). CONCLUSION: No significant association was observed between the Glu298 Asp polymorphism and CAD in this population group.