Interaction between CONNEXIN37 and PDE4D gene polymorphisms with susceptibility to ischemic stroke in Chinese population

The objective of this study was to test the relationship of several single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within phosphodiesterase 4D (PDE4D) and connexin 37 (CONNEXIN37) gene additional interactions with ischemic stroke (IS) risk. The online software SNPstats was used for Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium testing. Generalized multifactor dimensionality reduction (GMDR) was employed to detect the potential interactions among CONNEXIN37 gene, PDE4D gene, and smoking. The results indicated that the rs1764391-T and rs966221-G were correlated with higher IS risk, the corresponding ORs (95% CI) were 1.66 (1.21-2.03) and 1.48 (1.11-1.92), respectively. We also found that the first two loci including rs1764391 and rs918592, and the other two-loci including rs1764391 and smoking were significant in the GMDR model. Participants with rs1764391-CT/TT and rs918592-CT/TT genotype have the highest IS risk, compared to subjects with rs1764391-CC and rs918592-CC genotype, OR (95%CI) = 3.16 (1.83-4.45); smokers with rs1764391-CT/TT genotype also have the highest IS risk, compared to never smokers with rs1764391-CC genotype, OR (95%CI) = 2.82 (1.53-4.15), but no significant interaction combinations were found between gene and alcohol drinking. So in this study, the rs1764391-T and rs966221-G, rs1764391-rs918592 interaction, rs1764391-smoking interaction were all associated with higher IS susceptibility. Impact statement Till now, no study investigated the interaction between CONNEXIN37 and PDE4D gene, and the gene-environment interaction. Therefore, in the current study, we aimed to evaluate the impact of interactions between CONNEXIN37 and PDE4D gene, and its interaction with environmental risk factors on susceptibility to ischemic stroke (IS).