Association of lincRNA-p21 Haplotype with Coronary Artery Disease in a Chinese Han Population

lincRNA-p21 plays an important role in the pathogenesis and progression of coronary artery disease (CAD). To date, the biological significance of polymorphisms in lincRNA-p21 on CAD risk remains unknown. Here we aimed to evaluate the influence of lincRNA-p21 polymorphisms on individual susceptibility to CAD. Genotyping of four tagSNPs (rs9380586, rs4713998, rs6930083, and rs6931097) within lincRNA-p21 gene was performed in 615 CAD and 655 controls. The haplotype analysis showed that the haplotype G-A-A-G (rs9380586-rs4713998-rs6930083-rs6931097) was statistically significantly associated with the reduced risk for CAD (OR = 0.78, P = 0.023). Stratified analysis revealed that G-A-A-G haplotype was at a significantly lower risk for myocardial infarction (MI) (OR = 0.68, P = 0.010). We also found that haplotype G-A-A-G had a more pronounced decreased risk for premature CAD or MI subjects (OR = 0.67, P = 0.017 for premature CAD, and OR = 0.65, P = 0.041 for premature MI, resp.). Our data provide the first evidence that the G-A-A-G haplotype of lincRNA-p21 is associated with decreased risk of CAD and MI, particularly among premature CAD/MI in the Chinese Han population. Further studies with more subjects and in diverse ethnic populations are warranted to clarify the general validity of our findings.