ABSTRACT
Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) participates in the initiation and progression of atherosclerosis. In vitro studies have reported that the MCP-1 rs1024611 polymorphism is associated with increased MCP-1 concentrations. The study aimed to define whether MCP-1 concentrations are associated with premature coronary artery disease (pCAD) and to establish whether variations in the rs1024611 polymorphism increase MCP-1 concentrations. MCP-1 rs1024611 polymorphism was determined in 972 pCAD patients and 1070 control individuals by real-time PCR. MCP-1 concentrations were determined by the Bio-Plex system. In the total population, men had higher MCP-1 concentrations when compared to women (p < 0.001). When stratified by rs1024611 genotypes, higher MCP-1 concentrations were observed in AA individuals compared to GG subjects (p = 0.023). When performing the analysis considering sex, the differences remained significant in women (AA vs. GG, p = 0.028 and GA vs. GG, p = 0.008). MCP-1 concentrations were similar in pCAD patients and controls (p = 0.782). However, the independent analysis of the studied groups showed that in patients with the AA genotype, MCP-1 concentrations were significantly higher when compared to patients with the GG genotype (p = 0.009). Considering that the AA genotype increases MCP-1 concentration, we evaluated whether, in AA genotype carriers, MCP-1 concentrations were associated with pCAD. The results showed that for every ten pg/mL increase in MCP-1 concentration, the risk of presenting pCAD increases by 2.7% in AA genotype individuals. Individuals with the MCP-1 rs1024611 AA genotype present an increase in MCP-1 concentration. In those individuals, increased MCP-1 concentrations increase the risk of presented pCAD.
