Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms within LIPA (Lysosomal Acid Lipase A) Gene Are Associated with Susceptibility to Premature Coronary Artery Disease. A Replication in the Genetic of Atherosclerotic Disease (GEA) Mexican Study

AIM: The rs1412444 and rs2246833 polymorphisms within the LIPA gene were recently found to be significantly associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) in genome-wide association studies in Caucasian and Asian populations. The aim of the present study was to replicate this association in an independent population with a different genetic background. METHODS: The rs1412444 and rs2246833 polymorphisms of the LIPA gene were genotyped by 5′ exonuclease TaqMan genotyping assays in a sample of 899 Mexican patients with premature CAD, 270 individuals with subclinical atherosclerosis, and 677 healthy unrelated controls. Haplotypes were constructed after linkage disequilibrium analysis. RESULTS: Under recessive and additive models, the rs1412444 T and rs2246833 T alleles were associated with an increased risk of premature CAD when compared to controls adjusting for age, gender, BMI, and total cholesterol (OR = 1.53, P(Rec) = 0.0013 and OR = 1.34, P(Add) = 5 × 10(-4) for rs1412444 and OR = 1.45, P(Rec) = 0.0039 and OR = 1.28, P(Add) = 0.0023 for rs2246833). The effect of the two polymorphisms on various metabolic cardiovascular risk factors was analyzed in premature CAD and controls (CAC score = 0). The T alleles in both polymorphisms after adjusting for age, gender, BMI, and medication were associated with hypo-α-lipoproteinemia, hypercholesterolemia, hypertriglyceridemia, metabolic syndrome, and type 2 diabetes mellitus using recessive and additive models. The polymorphisms were in strong linkage disequilibrium and, based on SNP functional prediction software, only the rs1412444 polymorphism seemed to be functional. CONCLUSIONS: These results indicate that the rs1412444 and rs2246833 of the LIPA gene are shared susceptibility polymorphisms for CAD among different ethnicities.