ABSTRACT
<p><b>OBJECTIVE</b>To explore the relationship between myeloperoxidase (MPO) 129 A/G promoter polymorphisms and the severity of coronary artery disease (CAD).</p><p><b>METHODS</b>The study enrolled 267 patients who had been diagnosed as coronary artery diseases by coronary angiography. The serum MPO activity was detected by colorimetric method. PCR-RFLP method was used to decide the genotypes of the patients. The severity of CAD was evaluated by the numbers of stenotic coronary arteries and the Gensini scores respectively.</p><p><b>RESULTS</b>The MPO 129 locus G and A alleles frequency were 0.893 and 0.107, respectively. No significant difference was observed in serum MPO activity between different genotypes (P > 0.05). The distribution of genotypes in different Gensini score groups had no significant difference (P > 0.05). The patients with GG genotypes were prone to develop mutivessel diseases.</p><p><b>CONCLUSION</b>No significant correlation exists in MPO 129 locus polymorphism and serum MPO activity. The MPO 129 locus polymorphism isn't a reasonable predict factor of CAD severity.</p>