Association of V249I and T280M Polymorphisms in the Chemokine Receptor CX3CR1 Gene with Early Onset of Coronary Artery Disease Among North Indians

Abstract

Aim: Monocytes play a critical role in atherosclerosis. CX3CR1 is expressed on monocytes and acts as either a monocyte chemokine receptor or an adhesion molecule. Two common variants of CX3CR1, V249I and T280M, reportedly decrease the coronary artery risk. Results: We have examined the CX3CR1 genotype in 152 early-onset coronary artery disease (CAD) patients (age ≤45 years) and in 156 late-onset CAD patients (age ≥55 years) and in 300 healthy controls. Homozygous alleles CX3CR1-V249 and T280 were found associated with early onset of CAD (odds ratio [OR] 2.7, p<0.0001 and OR 2.76, p<0.0001, respectively), while alleles CX3CR1-I249 and M280 were found to be protective against early onset of disease (OR 0.36, p<0.0001 and OR 0.35, p<0.0001, respectively). A significant protective effect of the I₂₄₉M₂₈₀ haplotype was observed in the early-onset CAD population (OR=0.40, 95% confidence interval [CI]=0.19-0.86, p=0.02), while the haplotype V₂₄₉T₂₈₀ was associated with early onset of disease (OR=1.53, 95% CI=1.05-2.23, p=0.02). Observation: It might be possible that the risk of early onset of CAD is associated with a genetic variation in chemokine receptor CX3CR1.