Correlation between coronary stenosis and Toll-like receptors 2 and 4 levels in Chinese Zhuang patients with coronary heart disease.

The present study attempted to determine the correlation of the degree of coronary artery stenosis and Tolllike receptor 2/4 (TLR2/4) levels in Chinese Zhuang patients with coronary heart disease (CHD). A total of 466 Chinese patients from the Zhuang Ethnic population diagnosed with CHD at the Department of Cardiology the Affiliated Hospital of Youjiang Medical University between January 2016 and August 2017, together with 102 control patients, were recruited for the present study. The patients with CHD were divided into three groups depending on the number of diseased arteries. The patients with CHD were also classified according to their Gensini scores. Blood liver and renal function parameters, as well as blood sugar and lipid levels were measured. ELISA was used for TLR2/4 measurements. There were no significant differences with gender, age and body mass index between the CHD and control groups. The levels of TLR2/4 in the peripheral blood of the control and CHD groups were 2.34±0.85/5.08±2.41 and 5.22±3.16/9.33±4.92 ng/ml, respectively, and the differences were significant (P<0.001). Analysis of the three subgroups of vessel disease indicated that the expression of TLR2/4 was progressively higher with the increase in the number of affected vessels (P<0.01). There were also significant differences between the mild, moderate and severe stenosis groups (P<0.01). A positive linear correlation between TLR2/4 and the Gensini coronary artery score was identified (r=0.508 and 0.346, respectively; P<0.0001). In conclusion, the present study determined a positive correlation between the degree of coronary artery stenosis and the expression level of TLR2/4 in the serum of Chinese Zhuang patients with CHD. Serum TLR2/4 may be used to predict the severity of CHD.

Low density lipoprotein receptor gene Ava II polymorphism and serum lipid levels in the Guangxi Bai Ku Yao and Han populations.

BACKGROUND: Several common genetic polymorphisms in the low density lipoprotein receptor (LDL-R) gene have associated with modifications of serum total cholesterol (TC) and low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels, but the results are not consistent in different populations. Bai Ku Yao is a special subgroup of the Yao minority in China. The present study was undertaken to detect the association of LDL-R gene Ava Ⅱ polymorphism and serum lipid levels in the Guangxi Bai Ku Yao and Han populations. METHODS: A total of 1024 subjects of Bai Ku Yao and 792 participants of Han Chinese were randomly selected from our previous stratified randomized cluster samples. Genotyping of the LDL-R gene Ava Ⅱ polymorphism was performed by polymerase chain reaction and restriction fragment length polymorphism combined with gel electrophoresis, and then confirmed by direct sequencing. RESULTS: The levels of serum TC, high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), LDL-C, apolipoprotein (Apo) A1 and the ratio of ApoA1 to ApoB were lower in Bai Ku Yao than in Han (P < 0.01 for all). The frequency of A⁻ and A+ alleles was 65.5% and 34.5% in Bai Ku Yao, and 80.7% and 19.3% in Han (P < 0.001); respectively. The frequency of A⁻A⁻, A⁻A+ and A+A+ genotypes was 42.6%, 45.9% and 11.5% in Bai Ku Yao, and 64.9%, 31.6% and 3.5% in Han (P < 0.001); respectively. There was also significant difference in the genotypic frequencies between males and females in Bai Ku Yao (P <0.05), and in the genotypic and allelic frequencies between normal LDL-C (≤ 3.20 mmol/L) and high LDL-C (> 3.20 mmol/L) subgroups in Bai Ku Yao (P < 0.05 for each) and between males and females in Han (P < 0.05 for each). The levels of LDL-C in males and TC and HDL-C in females were different among the three genotypes (P < 0.05 for all) in Bai Ku Yao, whereas the levels of HDL-C in males and HDL-C and ApoA1 in females were different among the three genotypes (P < 0.05-0.001) in Han. The subjects with A+A+ genotype had higher serum LDL-C, TC, HDL-C or ApoA1 levels than the subjects with A-A+ and A⁻A⁻ genotypes. Spearman rank correlation analysis revealed that the levels of LDL-C in Bai Ku Yao and HDL-C in Han were correlated with genotypes (P < 0.05 and P < 0.01; respectively). CONCLUSIONS: The association of LDL-R gene Ava Ⅱ polymorphism and serum lipid levels is different between the Bai Ku Yao and Han populations. The discrepancy might partly result from different LDL-R gene Ava Ⅱ polymorphism or LDL-R gene-environmental interactions.