Abstract

Background: The vascular endothelium plays an important role in the atherosclerotic process through the release of mediators such as nitric oxide. The NO relaxes vascular smooth muscle, inhibits platelet activation, and modulates migration and growth of vascular smooth muscle cells; consequently eNOS may have a significant atheroprotective function through this mechanism. The - 786T > C polymorphism of the eNOS gene has been implicated in the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). We investigated the possible association between presence of CAD documented by angiography and the - 786T > C polymorphism of the NOS3 gene in Chilean individuals. Methods: A total of 112 unrelated patients with diagnosis of CAD and 109 controls were included in this study. The - 786T > C gene polymorphism was analyzed by PCR-RFLP. Results: The frequency of CC homozygous genotype for - 786T > C polymorphism was 6% in CAD patients and 4% in the control group. However, the genotype distribution and allele frequencies were not significantly different between CAD and control subjects (P = NS). Moreover, the odds ratio for CAD associated with the C variant failed to reach statistical significance (OR = 1.03; 95% CI: 0.60-1.76, P = NS). Conclusion: These findings suggest that the - 786T > C polymorphism of the eNOS gene was not associated with CAD in study Chilean individuals. © 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.