Assessment of early atherosclerotic findings in patients with nasal polyposis

Q192R polymorphism in the PON1 gene and nasal polyp in a Turkish population

The pathogenesis of nasal polyps is not completely understood. Oxidative damage contributes to polyp formation in the nasal mucosa. The paraoxonase 1 (PON1) enzyme is an important liver enzyme with high antioxidant activity. In this study, we investigated the correlation between Q192R genotypic polymorphism of the PON1 enzyme and nasal-polyp disease. The study examined 62 nasal-polyp patients and 88 controls. PON1 Q192R polymorphism was determined using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism. The genotype distribution of the PON1 gene was significantly different between nasal-polyp patients (QQ = 69.35%, QR = 25.81%, RR = 4.83%) and healthy controls (QQ = 52.27%, QR = 44.31%, RR = 3.40%). Our results suggest that the PON1 QQ genotype (odds ratio [OR] = 2.066, P = .036) is associated with a higher risk of developing the nasal-polyp disease while QR genotype (OR = 0.437, P = .021) showed a lower risk.

Low serum paraoxonase1 activity levels predict coronary artery disease severity

Paraoxonase1 (PON1) activity is closely related to coronary artery disease (CAD). However, whether PON1 activity can predict the degree of coronary stenosis remains unknown. In the present study, the serum PON1 activity and related factors that influence PON1 activity were analyzed in 186 patients with diagnostic coronary angiography. The serum PON1 activity was determined using a spectrophotometry-based assay in 186 patients with diagnostic coronary angiography, in which coronary stenosis severity was graded and clinically defined as single- or multi-vessel stenosis >50%. Target lesion stenosis was quantified via quantitative coronary angiography (QCA). The serum PON1 activity was significantly decreased in the CAD group, the multiple coronary stenosis subgroup, and the diabetes mellitus subgroup compared with each control group. The PON1 activity was positively correlated with the High density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and Apolipoprotein A1 (ApoA1). Males, smoking, diabetes, and heart failure were identified as factors that influenced PON1 activity. Furthermore, a Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve (ROC) analysis indicated that a PON1 activity cut-off point of 330 U/L could predict CAD with a sensitivity of 52% and a specificity of 65%. In conclusion, low PON1 activity predicted the degree of coronary lesion, particularly in multiple vessel lesions, smokers, and diabetes, which may represent a biochemical marker for the severity of CAD.