The Association of Fractalkine Receptor (T280M) Polymorphism in the Pathogenesis of Acute Coronary Syndrome in the Egyptian Population

BACKGROUND: Fractalkine (FKN) in its free and membrane bound-forms and its receptor CX3CR1are reported to have an atherosclerotic effect. The relationship of Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms (SNPs) in FKN and CX3CR1genes with the Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) risk showed conflicting results in different populations. The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of CX3CR1 threonine 280 methionine (T280M) polymorphism in the predisposition of Acute Coronary Syndrome (ACS) in Egyptians. METHODS: 200 Egyptian subjects were recruited for the study. They were divided into 100 ACS patients and 100 healthy controls. Genotyping of CX3CR1 T280M was performed using a Polymerase Chain Reaction-restriction Fragment Length Polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). Serum FKN was assayed by Enzyme - Linked - Immuno- Sorbent-Assay (ELISA). RESULTS: T and M allele frequencies for CX3CR1gene were not significantly different between ACS and Controls (p=0.76). Moreover, none of the genotypes had an atheroprotective effect. Serum analysis showed higher levels of FKN in ACS patients (p=0.041). FKN levels were not significantly different among genotypes of control and ACS groups (p=0.34) and (p=0.38) respectively. CONCLUSION: This study shows that CX3CR1 T280M polymorphism does not affect the incidence of ACS the Egyptian population. Moreover, none of the genotypes were associated with higher FKN levels.