Haptoglobin Genotype Is a Major Determinant of the Amount of Iron in the Human Atherosclerotic Plaque

Haptoglobin Genotype Is a Major Determinant of the Amount of Iron in the Human Atherosclerotic Plaque Pedro R. Moreno, K. Raman Purushothaman, Meera Purushothaman, Paul Muntner, Nina S. Levy, Valentin Fuster, John T. Fallon, Patrick A. Lento, Aaron Winterstern, Andrew P. Levy We sought to test the hypothesis that haptoglobin (Hp) genotype is a determinant of the amount of iron in the atherosclerotic plaque. The Hp gene has 2 alleles (1 and 2). We identified the presence or absence of Perl's iron stain in 189 plaques obtained from 37 decedents at autopsy. In individuals with diabetes mellitus (DM), the prevalence of Perl's iron stain was increased in Hp 2-2 compared with that seen in Hp 1-1 or 2-1 (46.2% vs. 11.8%). These data support an impaired clearance of hemoglobin and its iron cargo from plaques in Hp 2-2 individuals with DM.