Abstract

Background: The Coronary artery disease (CAD) occurs as a result of atherosclerotic plaque formation. The interferon gamma (IFNγ) as a multifunctional cytokine is involved in inflammatory processes in atherosclerosis. Objectives: We investigated the relationship between IFNγ (+874T/A) SNP with CAD. Moreover, we compared IFNγ mRNA expression in CAD patients and healthy controls. Patients and Methods: This case-control study with randomized sampling included 300 patients with CAD and 301 normal controls. The SSP-PCR method was used for genotyping IFNγ (+874T/A) gene polymorphism. Quantitative Real-Time PCR was performed to measure IFNγ mRNA expression. All data was analyzed by GraphPad software. The chi-square and ordinal logistic regression tests were used to analyze differences in genotype frequencies. Results: In this study, there was a significant association between male genders with CAD (P < 0.001). There was a significant association between genotype T/T and Allele T of IFNγ (+874T/A) polymorphism with CAD (P = 0.021 and P = 0.022, respectively). The inheritance model analysis showed that two copy of allele T is required for increased risk in CAD (P = 0.031). There was a significant association between the genotype T/T of IFNγ (+874T/A) polymorphism with CAD patients with double and triple vessel disease (P = 0.030 and P = 0.013, respectively). The IFNγ mRNA level in CAD group was significantly higher than control group (P = 0.024). Conclusions: Conclusions: IFNγ gene functional polymorphism can be associated with incidence and severity of CAD. IFNγ mRNA level was also increased in CAD patients in comparison with controls. Therefore, IFNγ may play a role in predisposition to CAD.

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