Influence of genetic variation in the C-reactive protein gene on the inflammatory response during and after acute coronary ischemia

The aim of this research was to assess whether common genetic variants within the C-reactive protein gene (CRP) are related to the degree of acute rise in plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) levels following an acute coronary syndrome (ACS). While polymorphisms within CRP are associated with basal CRP levels in healthy men and women, less is known about the relationship of such genetic variants and the degree of CRP rise during and after acute ischemia. Plasma CRP is associated with increased rates of recurrent coronary events. We evaluated seven common genetic variants within CRP and assessed their relationship to the degree of rise in CRP levels immediately following an acute coronary syndrome in 1827 European American patients. Variants in the putative promoter region, -757T > C and -286C > T > A, were associated with the highest CRP elevations after ACS. Patients with two copies of the A allele of SNP -286C > T > A had median CRP values of 76.6 mg/L, compared to 11.1 mg/L in patients with no copies of the rare variant (p-value < 0.0001), post ACS. The lowest CRP values were found for patients with minor alleles of the exonic 1059G > C and the 3' untranslated region 1846G > A SNPs. For example, patients homozygous for the minor allele of 1059G > C had 71% lower median CRP values than those homozygous for the major allele [3.5 vs 12.0 mg/L, p < 0.0001]. These trends persisted in the chronic stable phase after ischemia had resolved, and after adjustment for infarct size by peak creatinine kinase levels and clinical status by Killip class. Assessment of CRP genetic variants identified patients with higher and lower CRP elevation after acute coronary syndrome.