Functional genetic polymorphisms of monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 and C-C chemokine receptor type 2 in ischemic stroke

Recent findings indicated that monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP1) and its C-C chemokine receptor type 2 (CCR2) play a key role in ischemic stroke (IS) progression. This study was aimed at evaluating the potential association of the MCP1 gene (MCP1) rs1024611 (-2518 A>G) and CCR2 gene (CCR2) rs1799864 (V64I; 190 G>A) functional single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with IS in the Armenian population. For the purpose of this study, genomic DNA samples of 100 patients with the first-episode IS and 115 healthy subjects (controls) were genotyped for the selected SNPs using a polymerase chain reaction with sequence-specific primers. The results obtained demonstrated that while the CCR2 rs1799864 SNP genotypes were equally distributed among patients and controls, the frequency and carriage rate of the of the MCP1 rs1024611*G minor allele were higher in patients. While a potential association between IS and CCR2 rs1799864 SNP was evaluated for the first time, the latest finding was in agreement with the earlier data reported for some other populations. In summary, this study revealed no association of CCR2 rs1799864 SNP with IS, and a positive association between G minor allele of MCP1 rs1024611 SNP and IS in the Armenian population. Based on the present and earlier reported data, we concluded that the minor G allele of the MCP1 rs1024611 SNP might be considered a risk factor for IS.