Lipoprotein 'A' Gene Polymorphism and its Importance in Coronary Artery Disease

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is now the most common cause of death worldwide. CVD accounts for approximately 30% of deaths worldwide today. Studies indicate the prevalence of CHD to be between 7 and 13 per cent in urban and 2-7 per cent in rural India. There is compelling evidence from studies worldwide that Lipoprotein 'a' is a causal, genetic, independent risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Serum Lp 'a' levels may vary over a wide range and this is due to Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms and variable number of Kringle IV-2 domain repeats in the LPA gene located on chromosome 6q 26-27. Of the SNPs, few have been proved to increase serum Lp 'a' levels and in turn lead to increased risk of CAD beyond doubt. Our study is based on the intronic SNP rs1321196, which has been shown to be consistently associated with higher levels of Lipoprotein 'a' in various ethnic groups. The purpose of this study was to test the SNP rs1321196 and compare it with the serum levels of Lipoprotein 'A' in patients with Coronary Artery Disease. We tested 26 patients who were angiographically proven to have Triple Vessel Disease and compared them to 14 healthy age and gender matched control subjects. Mean Lp 'A' level in cases was 70.6 mg/dl and in control subjects were 50.9 mg/dl. The G [right arrow] A polymorphism was found to be associated with increase in serum Lp 'a' levels (p value