Is plasma soluble CD36 associated with cardiovascular risk factors in early onset coronary artery disease patients?

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: This is the first study to investigate the relationship between plasma concentration of soluble CD36 (sCD36) and CD36 gene polymorphisms as well as clinical and echocardiographic parameters in patients with early onset coronary artery disease (CAD). METHODS: sCD36 concentrations were measured by the ELISA kits. CD36 sequence alterations detected by the DHPLC technique comprised single nucleotide substitutions: rs3173798, rs3211892, rs5956 and rs141680676. RESULTS: There were significant negative correlations between sCD36 and red blood cell count, hemoglobin, hematocrit and glucose concentration, ApoB/ApoA1 ratio, patients' weight and waist circumference, BMI, WHR, systolic blood pressure, MAP values, left ventricular end-diastolic diameter and volume, left atrium diameter, right ventricular end-diastolic diameter. There were significant positive correlations between sCD36 and patients' age, mean corpuscular volume of erythrocytes, HDL-cholesterol, ApoA1 concentrations. Significantly higher CD36 plasma levels were found in female subgroup. There was no association between CD36 genotypes and sCD36 concentrations. Multiple linear regression analysis revealed that significant independent predictors of higher plasma sCD36 level were female gender, older age, lower serum glucose and lower RBC. CONCLUSION: The presented data suggest possible protective effects of higher sCD36 concentration in relation to metabolic syndrome components in CAD patients. Higher sCD36 concentration is also associated with lower risk of left ventricular hypertrophy, but on the other hand is a potential risk factor of impaired left ventricle diastolic function.

Association of CD36 gene polymorphisms with echo- and electrocardiographic parameters in patients with early onset coronary artery disease.

INTRODUCTION: CD36 plays an important role in long-chain fatty acid homeostasis in skeletal muscle and the myocardium. CD36 deficiency may lead to reduced myocardial uptake of long-chain fatty acid. Therefore, different mutations of the CD36 gene may contribute to the clinical heterogeneity of cardiac hypertrophy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The objective of the study was to investigate whether there is an association between the sequence changes in CD36 and echocardiographic and electrocardiographic parameters in Caucasian patients with early onset coronary artery disease. The study group comprised 100 patients. Electrocardiography and echocardiography were performed in all patients. Amplicons of exons 4 to 6 including fragments of introns were studied using the denaturing high-performance liquid chromatography technique. RESULTS: IVS3-6TC (rs3173798) heterozygotes had impaired left ventricle diastolic function. 573GA heterozygotes (rs5956) had higher frequency of pseudonormal left ventricular diastolic function and it was confirmed by the increase in wave A' in the tissue Doppler. 591AT genotype was associated with borderline higher posterior wall end-diastolic thickness and lower E/A ratio. These results are consistent with electrocardiography parameters which could reflect left ventricular hypertrophy (higher RV5(6) and RV5(6) + SV1(2) parameters, depressed ST segments and tendency to longer Qtc II interval) in 591AT heterozygotes. CONCLUSIONS: Detected variant alleles of CD36 may be associated with features of left ventricular hypertrophy and impaired diastolic function.

CD36 gene is associated with thickness of atheromatous plaque and ankle-brachial index in patients with early coronary artery disease.

BACKGROUND: CD36 is a multifunctional molecule engaged in the removal of oxidised LDL from plasma. It is unclear whether mutation of the CD36 gene protects against, or increases, the risk of hypercholesterolaemia, atherosclerosis and its complications. AIM: To search for associations between the CD36 gene polymorphisms and radiological markers of atherosclerosis progress in Caucasian patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) diagnosed at a young age. METHODS: The study group comprised 70 patients with early CAD. Doppler ultrasound of carotid and peripheral arteries was carried out and genomic DNA was isolated from each patient. RESULTS: We found two single nucleotide substitutions in introns (IVS3-6 T/C - rs3173798 and IVS4-10 G/A - rs3211892) and two synonymous polymorphisms in exon 6 (G573A - rs5956 and A591T). The allele frequencies were: 10.7% for the IVS3-6C, 3.6% for the IVS4-10A, 3.6% for the 573A, and 2.1% for the 591T. The 573A allele of CD36 rs5956 polymorphism is associated with low thickness of atheromatous plaque. The 591T allele is associated with lower ankle-brachial index. CONCLUSIONS: The 573A allele has a protective effect against atherosclerosis development and the 591T allele is a cardiovascular risk factor. Assessment of their functional implications requires further research.

Polymorphism of the CD36 Gene and Cardiovascular Risk Factors in Patients with Coronary Artery Disease Manifested at a Young Age.

This study investigates potential associations between CD36 gene variants and the presence of risk factors in Caucasians with coronary artery disease (CAD) manifested at a young age. The study group consisted of 90 patients; the men were ≤ 50 years old and the women were ≤ 55 years old. Amplicons of exons 4 and 5 including fragments of introns were analyzed by DHPLC. Two polymorphisms were found: IVS3-6 T/C (rs3173798) and IVS4-10 G/A (rs3211892). The C allele of the IVS3-6 T/C polymorphism was associated with higher prevalence of obesity and diabetes, higher hsCRP, lower Lp(a) serum concentrations, and younger age at myocardial infarction. The A allele of the IVS4-10 G/A polymorphism was associated with older age of myocardial infarction and higher white blood cell count. The functional role of CD36 polymorphisms in CAD development needs further research.