Polymorphisms in the Promoter Region of the Basic Fibroblast Growth Factor Gene Are Not Associated with Myocardial Infarction in a Slovene Population with Type 2 Diabetes

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF) is a multifunctional growth factor that may play a significant role in atherosclerotic vascular complications in patients with type 2 diabetes. This study was designed to investigate the association between genetic polymorphisms (–553 T/A, −834 T/A and −921 C/G) in the promoter region of the bFGF gene and myocardial infarction (MI) in 443 patients with type 2 diabetes (149 with MI and 294 with no history of coronary artery disease). The −553 T/A, −834 T/A and −921 C/G polymorphisms of the bFGF gene were found not to be risk factors for MI in patients with type 2 diabetes. The impact of bFGF gene polymorphisms on serum bFGF levels was also investigated and significantly higher serum levels of bFGF were demonstrated in diabetes patients with the TA genotype of the −553 T/A polymorphism compared with diabetes patients with the TT wild type genotype (9.0 ± 5.6 ng/l versus 3.0 ± 1.9 ng/l, respectively). Thus, the tested bFGF gene polymorphisms cannot be used as genetic markers for MI in diabetic Caucasians.