INTRODUCTION: Coronary artery disease (CAD) is one of the major causes of death in the world. It can be a result of environmental or genetic factors. A single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is a variation of 1 nucleotide sequence in any region of the genome, which may cause susceptibility to the disease. Therefore, SNPs have been proposed as ideal markers in disease association studies. Endothelial lipase (EL) is a protein of the triglyceride lipase family that plays an important role in high-density lipoprotein (HDL) metabolism. The EL gene has a common 584C/T polymorphism, but it is unclear whether this polymorphism is associated with HDL-cholesterol levels or CAD. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between the EL 584C/T gene polymorphism, HDL level, and the risk of CAD in residents of Elazig province.
METHODS: The population of this study consisted of 78 patients with angiographically confirmed CAD and 81 healthy controls. Genotyping for the 584C/T polymorphism was performed using the polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism technique.
RESULTS: The frequency of the CT, CC, and TT genotypes was 40.74%, 56.8%, and 2.46%, respectively, in the control group, and 66.67%, 30.37%, and 2.56%, respectively, in the CAD group. The Hardy-Weinberg value was p<0.05 for the control group and p>0.05 for the CAD group. No significant association was found between the 584C/T variant and HDL level. The T allele frequency was higher in the CAD group than among the controls.
DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION: It was concluded that the T allele was associated with a risk of CAD in Elazig province, independent of the HDL-cholesterol level.