Lack of association between four SNPs in the SLC22A3-LPAL2-LPA gene cluster and coronary artery disease in a Chinese Han population: a case control study

BACKGROUND: Lipoprotein (a) (Lp [a]) is known being correlated with coronary artery disease (CAD). The SLC22A3-LPAL2-LPA gene cluster, relating with modulating the level of plasma Lp (a), has recently been reported to be associated with CAD in Caucasians. The purpose of this study was to verify whether this finding can be expanded to the Chinese Han population. METHODS AND RESULTS: Using a Chinese Han sample, which consisted of 1012 well-characterized CAD patients and 889 healthy controls, we tested the associations of four SNPs (rs2048327, rs3127599, rs7767084 and rs10755578) in the SLC22A3-LPAL2-LPA gene cluster, and their inferred haplotypes with the risk of CAD. Allelic, genotypic and haplotype association analyses all showed that the gene cluster was not associated with CAD in this Chinese Han sample. CONCLUSIONS: We for the first time explored the association of the four SNPs in the SLC22A3-LPAL2-LPA gene cluster with CAD in a large Chinese Han sample. Nevertheless, this study did not reveal any significant evidence of this gene cluster to increase the risk of CAD in this population.