Association of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1)-2518A>G polymorphism with susceptibility to coronary artery disease: a meta-analysis

Genetic Variants, Circulating Level of MCP1 with Risk of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: A Case-Control Study

Background

Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) ranks one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. Inflammation is greatly involved in the pathogenesis of COPD. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP1) has been implicated to play an important role in the inflammatory response of various pathological processes.

Methods

In this study, we conducted a hospital-based case-control study in a Chinese population, aiming to evaluate the potential associations of genetic polymorphisms of the MCP1 gene (rs1024611, rs2857656, and rs4586) and circulating level of MCP1 with COPD risk.

Results

We found that rs1024611 (OR=1.37; 95% CI=1.11–1.69; P-value=0.004) and rs4586 (OR=1.33; 95% CI=1.09–1.63; P-value=0.006) were significantly associated with increased COPD risk. In the dominant model, both rs1024611 (OR=1.46; 95% CI=1.11–1.92; P-value=0.006) and rs4586 (OR=1.56; 95% CI=1.18–2.07; P-value=0.002) were significantly associated with increased COPD risk. Genotypes of rs1024611 and rs4586 with minor alleles had a significantly higher circulating level of MCP1 (P<0.001). Meanwhile, a circulating level of MCP1 was significantly associated with increased COPD risk (OR for per quartile increment=1.35, 95% CI=1.21–1.52, P<0.001).

Conclusion

Our study indicated that genetic polymorphisms of the MCP1 gene and circulating level of MCP1 contributed to the COPD risk in the Chinese population. MCP1 contributed importantly to the pathophysiological process and occurrence of COPD.

Association between monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 and blood pressure in smokers

Objective

The expression level of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (MCP-1) is increased in atherosclerotic regions, inducing monocyte migration to the blood vessel wall. Although the serum MCP-1 concentration is higher in patients with than without cardiovascular disease, the precise correlations between the serum MCP-1 concentration and factors associated with smoking and atherosclerosis are unknown.

Methods

The serum MCP-1 concentration was measured using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay in 207 consecutive smokers who visited our smoking cessation clinic.

Results

Sex-adjusted analysis of smokers revealed that the MCP-1 concentration was positively correlated with age (β = 0.311), smoking duration (β = 0.342), systolic blood pressure (β = 0.225), and diastolic blood pressure (β = 0.137) but not with the body mass index. Multivariate regression analysis showed that smoking duration and systolic blood pressure were independent determinants of the MCP-1 concentration.

Conclusions

The MCP-1 concentration was positively correlated with blood pressure among smokers. Long-term smokers with high blood pressure may be more susceptible to plaque rupture at atherosclerotic lesion sites.

Lipoprotein Lipase (LPL) Polymorphism and the Risk of Coronary Artery Disease: A Meta-Analysis

Background: In recent years, the lipoprotein lipase (LPL) polymorphism has been extensively investigated as a potential risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). However, the results of these studies have been inconsistent. Therefore, we performed this meta-analysis to explore the association between LPL polymorphism and CAD risk. Methods: The literature was searched from electronic databases such as Embase, China Biological Medicine Database, PubMed, Knowledge Infrastructure, and China National Web of Science by the key words “coronary artery disease”, “lipoprotein lipase” and “polymorphism”. All of the studies included in this manuscript met the inclusion and exclusion criteria. An odds ratio (OR) analysis using a 95% confidence interval (CI) was employed to assess the association of the LPL polymorphism with CAD susceptibility. Results: We performed a meta-analysis of 14 case-control studies including HindIII, Ser447X and PvuII polymorphism. A statistically significant increase in the risk of CAD was associated with LPL HindIII polymorphism. This included HindIII H⁺H⁺ genotype (OR = 1.28, 95% CI = 1.09–1.49, p = 0.002, I² = 43%) and H⁺ allele genotype (OR = 1.27, 95% CI = 1.03–1.58, p = 0.03, I² = 67%). Ser447X XX genotype (OR = 2.37, 95% CI = 1.33–4.24, p = 0.004, I² = 53%) was also associated with CAD risk. However, PvuII polymorphism was found to have no significant association with CAD risk. Conclusions: LPL HindIII polymorphism was significantly associated with the risk of CAD. For Ser447X polymorphism, it was found that only XX genotype was significantly associated with CAD risk. Furthermore, PvuII polymorphism had no significant association with CAD risk. It was considered that LPL HindIII polymorphism might serve as a potential biomarker for CAD risk.

Association between 17q25.3-rs6465657 polymorphism and prostate cancer susceptibility: a meta-analysis based on 19 studies

Background

Genome-wide association studies have identified rs6465657 polymorphism at chromosome 17q25.3 as a new prostate cancer (PCa) susceptibility locus in people of European descent. However, subsequent replication studies have yielded inconsistent results among different ethnicities. In this study, a comprehensive meta-analysis was conducted to systematically evaluate the relationship between rs6465657 polymorphism and PCa risk.

Methods

All the articles involved were identified from PubMed, EMBASE, Web of Science, EBSCO databases, and Google Scholar before December 2015. The odds ratios (ORs) with corresponding 95% confidence internals (95% CIs) were pooled under the allele model. Fourteen eligible articles with 19 studies were finally included.

Results

In the overall population, the 17q25.3-rs6465657C allele was found to be significantly associated with increased risk of PCa compared to the T allele (OR =1.097; 95% CI: 1.061–1.134; P<0.001). In the subgroup analysis stratified by ethnicity, significantly increased risk was found in the Caucasian population (OR =1.120; 95% CI: 1.078–1.162; P<0.001), while the difference of OR did not reach the statistical significance in the Asian or African-American population. The analyses of sensitivity indicated the robust stability of the results, and the Begg’s and Egger’s test indicated that no publication bias existed.

Conclusion

The current meta-analysis suggested that the 17q25.3-rs6465657 polymorphism could be associated with PCa susceptibility, especially in the Caucasians, while this association might be different in other ethnicities.

Association between Dietary Vitamin C Intake and Risk of Prostate Cancer: A Meta-analysis Involving 103,658 Subjects

We attempted to systematically determine the association between dietary intake of vitamin C and risk of prostate cancer. PubMed and Embase were searched to obtain eligible studies published before February 2015. Cohort or case-control studies that reported the relative risk (RR)/odds ratio (OR) estimates with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the association between vitamin C intake and prostate cancer risk were included. Eighteen studies regarding dietary vitamin C intake were finally obtained, with a total of 103,658 subjects. The pooled RR of prostate cancer for the highest versus the lowest categories of dietary vitamin C intake was 0.89 (95%CI: 0.83-0.94; p = 0.000) with evidence of a moderate heterogeneity (I(2) = 39.4%, p = 0.045). Meta-regression analysis suggested that study design accounted for a major proportion of the heterogeneity. Stratifying the overall study according to study design yielded pooled RRs of 0.92 (95%CI: 0.86-0.99, p = 0.027) among cohort studies and 0.80 (95%CI: 0.71-0.89, p = 0.000) among case-control studies, with no heterogeneity in either subgroup. In the dose-response analysis, an inverse linear relationship between dietary vitamin C intake and prostate cancer risk was established, with a 150 mg/day dietary vitamin C intake conferred RRs of 0.91 (95%CI: 0.84-0.98, p = 0.018) in the overall studies, 0.95 (95%CI: 0.90-0.99, p = 0.039) in cohort studies, and 0.79 (95%CI: 0.69-0.91, p = 0.001) in case-control studies. In conclusion, intake of vitamin C from food was inversely associated with prostate cancer risk in this meta-analysis.