Genetic variant in visfatin gene promoter is associated with decreased risk of coronary artery disease in a Chinese population

Abstract

Background Visfatin is a newly identified pro-inflammatory adipokine expressed predominantly in visceral fat. Previous studies have suggested a role for visfatin in low-grade inflammation and regulation of lipid metabolism. Most recently, a genetic polymorphism − 1535C > T located in the visfatin gene promoter has been identified, and suggested to be associated with the regulation of visfatin expression, lipid levels. However, it is unclear whether this polymorphism has a linkage with CAD. Methods We conducted a hospital-based case-control study with 257 CAD patients and 292 controls to examine the potential association of the Visfatin − 1535C > T polymorphism with CAD. Results The frequencies of the CC, CT, and TT genotypes in cases were significantly different from those of controls ( χ 2 = 6.223, P = 0.045). Subjects with the variant genotypes (CT + TT) had a 40% decreased risk of CAD relative to CC carriers (adjusted OR = 0.60, 95%CI = 0.40–0.89). Furthermore, the adjusted OR of a TT genotype for CAD was 0.52 (95%CI = 0.31–0.87). There was a significant association between Visfatin − 1535C > T polymorphism and triglyceride levels in both CAD patients and controls ( P = 0.003, 0.018, respectively). In stratified analyses, the T allele was significantly associated with reduced risk of CAD in males, subjects with age < 59 years, and non-smokers. Moreover, a borderline statistical significance ( P = 0.058 for trend) was observed between the variant genotypes and severity of CAD. Conclusion Our results suggested that Visfatin − 1535C > T polymorphism might be associated with reduced risk of CAD in a Chinese population.