Contribution of eNOS variants to the genetic susceptibility of coronary artery disease in a Tunisian population.

Nitric oxide (NO), produced by the enzyme endothelial nitric oxide synthase (eNOS), has critical roles in the regulation of vascular homeostasis and prevention of atherogenesis by inhibiting leukocytes, platelet activation, and smooth muscle cell proliferation. There is strong experimental and clinical evidence that abnormalities in eNOS availability play an important role in the pathophysiology of coronary artery disease (CAD). Controversial results regarding the association of eNOS gene polymorphisms with CAD have been reported. The aim of this study is to investigate the relationship of the 894G>T (rs1799983) and 4a/4b (rs61722009) polymorphisms of the eNOS gene with the presence of CAD in the Tunisian population. A total of 332 patients with CAD and 368 controls were included in this study. The 894G>T (rs1799983) single-nucleotide polymorphisms were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism, and 4a/4b (rs61722009) polymorphism just by polymerase chain reaction (PCR). eNOS rs1799983 was significantly associated with CAD under the additive, dominant, but not recessive, models (additive model OR: 2.81; 95% CI [2.05-3.85]; p<0.001, dominant model OR: 2.84; 95% CI [2.09-3.86]; p<0.001, and recessive models p=0.09). This remained significant after adjustment for age, gender, diabetes, smoking, and hypertension. In contrast to eNOS rs1799983, eNOS rs61722009 was not associated with CAD under any of the genetic models tested. These findings suggest that the G894T (rs1799983) polymorphism of the eNOS gene was associated with CAD in Tunisian patients.