Tumor necrosis factor receptor 2 gene (TNFRSF1B) in genetic basis of coronary artery disease

Tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha has been implicated in pathophysiological processes in coronary artery disease (CAD). TNF receptor 2 is of particular interest in mediating such effects. The gene for this receptor (TNF-RSF1B) has, moreover, been implicated in hypertension, elevated cholesterol and insulin resistance. TNFRSF1B is thus a worthy candidate in studies of the genetic basis of CAD. We therefore conducted a case-control study of a microsatellite marker with five alleles (CA13-CA17) in intron 4 of TNFRSF1B in 1006 well-characterized white patients with angiographically confirmed CAD and a control group of 183 healthy subjects. We found a strong association of the TNFRSF1B marker with CAD (chi2=40, P=0.00000069). The frequency of the CA16 allele was 33% in CAD vs. 21% in control (odds ratio, OR, to have CAD for presence vs. absence of CA16 allele in CA16 homozygotes was 4.5, 95% CI 2.1-9.4, P