Alanine for Proline Substitution in the Peroxisome Proliferator–Activated Receptor Gamma-2 (PPARG2) Gene and the Risk of Incident Myocardial Infarction

Abstract
Objective— Recent studies have implicated the potential importance of peroxisome proliferator–activated receptors as a molecular mechanism involved in atherothrombosis. A common alanine (A) for proline (P) substitution at codon 12 in the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor gamma-2 gene (PPARG2) has been associated with reduced risk of developing type 2 diabetes mellitus. Because diabetes and atherothrombosis share common antecedents, we sought evidence that this polymorphism might also be associated with reduced risk of myocardial infarction. Methods and Results— Using DNA samples collected at baseline in a prospective cohort of 14 916 initially healthy American men, we evaluated a P12A polymorphism in the PPARG2 among 523 individuals who subsequently developed myocardial infarction and among 2092 individuals who remained free of reported cardiovascular disease over a mean follow-up period of 13.2 years. As hypothesized, presence of the A12 allele was associated with significantly reduced risk of m...