Polymorphisms of the endothelial nitric oxide synthase gene — no consistent association with myocardial infarction in the ECTIM study

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Abstract
Background Our aim in the present study was to determine whether endothelial NO synthase gene (ecNOS) polymorphisms are associated with myocardial infarction (MI). Methods Forty chromosomes from patients with MI were screened for polymorphisms of the ecNOS gene using polymerase chain reaction–single-strand conformation polymorphism (PCR–SSCP) analysis and sequencing. Ten polymorphisms were detected: three in the 5′ flanking sequence at positions −1474, −924 and −788, two in coding sequences 774C → T (silent) and G894 → T (Glu-298 → Asp) and five in introns 2, 11, 12, 22 and 23. Five hundred and thirty-one patients with MI and 610 control subjects recruited in France and Northern Ireland in the ECTIM study were genotyped for these polymorphisms. Results Glu-298 homozygotes were more frequent among patients with MI than in control subjects in the French population [OR = 1.47 (1.03–1.97), P < 0.009], but no such difference was observed in Northern Ireland. No significant difference between cases and control subjects was detected for the other polymorphisms. Our search for a possible association of the combination of ecNOS polymorphisms with MI by logistic regression analysis was also negative. Conclusions We have explored a set of polymorphisms of the ecNOS gene in a large case–control study of MI and found that the polymorphisms were not consistently associated with MI.