Association of CXCR4 expression with coronary collateralization in patients with chronic total coronary occlusion: A nested case-control study

Traditional Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Coronary Collateral Circulation: A Meta-Analysis

Objective: Patients with well-developed coronary collateral circulation (CC) usually have low mortality, improved cardiac function, and reduced infarct size. Currently, there is conflicting evidence on the association between traditional cardiovascular risk factors (diabetes, hypertension, and smoking habit) and CC.

Design: We performed a meta-analysis of case-control studies to better understand such associations.

Data Sources: We searched the MEDINE, EMBASE, and Science Citation Index databases to identify relevant studies.

Eligibility Criteria for Selecting Studies: Case control studies reporting data on risk factors (smoking habit, hypertension, and diabetes mellites) in comparing cases between poor CC and well-developed CC groups. Well-developed CC was the primary outcome of this meta-analysis

Data Extraction and Synthesis: Relevant data were extracted by two independent investigators. We derived pooled odds ratios (ORs) with random effects models. We performed quality assessments, publication bias, and sensitivity analysis to ensure the reliability of our results.

Results: In total, 18 studies that had 4,746 enrolled patients were analyzed. Our results showed that hypertension and smoking habit did not (OR = 0.94, 95% CI: 0.75–1.17, p = 0.564 and OR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.84–1.18, p = 0.970, respectively), and diabetes did (OR = 0.50, 95% CI: 0.38–0.67, p = 0.00001) affect the development of CC.

Conclusion: Unlike hypertension and smoking habit, diabetes was associated with poor CC formation.

Trial Registration Number:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/PROSPERO/display_record.php?RecordID=87821, identifier: CRD42018087821.

Genetic variation of CXCR4 and risk of coronary artery disease: epidemiological study and functional validation of CRISPR/Cas9 system

Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) remain the leading cause of death worldwide, while coronary artery disease (CAD) account for a large part of CVDs. Vascular CXCR4 could limit atherosclerosis by maintaining arterial integrity. Here, we conducted a population-based, case-control study to evaluate the associations of common genetic variation within the CXCR4 gene (rs2228014, rs117600832, rs2471859, and rs2322864) with CAD risk in a Chinese population. We found that CXCR4 rs2228014 was significantly associated with 1.29-fold increased risk of CAD (A vs G: OR = 1.29; 95% CI = 1.07–1.55; P = 0.007). The subjects with genotype AA (OR = 1.98; 95% CI = 1.03–3.81; P = 0.041) and AG (OR = 1.27; 95% CI = 1.02–1.58; P = 0.030) have higher risk of CAD, compared with those with genotype GG. Furthermore, both in the CAD patients with diabetes and those without diabetes, rs2228014 was significantly associated with increased risk of CAD (P < 0.05). Additionally, we also validated the significant association for rs2322864 (C vs T: OR = 1.20; 95% CI = 1.00–1.44; P = 0.046). Knockout of CXCR4 gene could significantly impair the capacity of cholesterol efflux (P < 0.01). These findings strongly suggest that CXCR4 polymorphisms might contribute to CAD susceptibility, and the exact biological mechanism awaits further research.