To evaluate the association between the apelin -1860T>C polymorphism and plasma apelin levels in Turkish patients with coronary artery disease (CAD). A total of 276 individuals were enrolled in the present study, including 158 patients with CAD and 118 individuals without CAD as controls. The presence of the apelin -1860T>C gene polymorphism and plasma apelin levels were determined using polymerase chain reaction/restriction fragment length polymorphism and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, respectively. Significance was set at p≤0.05 for all statistical analyses. The genotype and allele frequencies of interested genes were significantly different between groups (χ(2)=10.2; df=2; p=0.006 and χ(2)=13.4; df=1; p=0.000, respectively). Frequency of CC genotype and the C allele of -1860T>C site was significantly higher in CAD patients compared to healthy controls. We found that individuals with the TC and CC genotypes were associated with an increased risk of CAD when compared with the TT genotype in CAD patients, and the adjusted ORs (95% CI) were 6.50 (1.27-33.0) and 6.39 (1.77-23.0), respectively. Plasma apelin levels were significantly lower in CAD patients compared to control group. Apelin level of CAD patient group having CC genotype of -1860T>C site was significantly lower compared to those having TT genotypes, but it was not statistically significant (p > 0.05). The homozygous CC genotype of apelin gene is associated with high risk of CAD. Apelin gene polymorphism -1860T>C is a significant predictor of predisposition to CAD in in Turkish population.
Keywords: Apelin -1860T>C gene; coronary artery disease; polymorphism.