Background: Recent studies have demonstrated that CD36 is involved in the progression of atherosclerosis.
Associations between rs1761667 polymorphisms of the CD36 gene and susceptibility to coronary artery
disease (CAD) are not obvious.
Methods: We studied the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs1761667 of
CD36 gene and the risk of coronary atherosclerosis in a case-control study composed of 71 CAD patients and
76 healthy controls by assessment of allele frequencies and genotype distributions using real-time polymerase
chain reaction (PCR) and the allele discrimination technique. Additionally, we detected CD36 expression by
flow cytometry.
Results: The distribution of rs1761667 genotypes between the two groups was significantly different
(P<0.001), with the frequency of the AG genotype being significantly higher in the CAD group than in the
control group (P<0.001). The expression level of CD36 in the CAD group was significantly higher than
that in the control group (P<0.001), with significant differences in the CAD patients with an AG genotype
compared with those with an AA and GG genotype (P<0.001). The plasma levels (mg/dL) of low-density
lipoprotein (LDL) in the CAD group were much higher than that in the control group (P<0.001). On the
other hand, the plasma LDL levels in CAD patients with the AG genotype were remarkably higher than
those with the GG and AA genotypes (P=0.046) and AG genotype was significantly more prevalent among
type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) and metabolic syndrome (MetS) patients (P<0.05). After adjusted logistic
regression analysis, the AG genotype of rs1761667 was associated with an increased risk of CAD (OR=17.97,
95% CI, 3.19–87.85, P=0.001).
Conclusions: The AG genotype of the rs1761667 polymorphism in the CD36 gene may be involved in
CAD pathogenesis as well as increased body mass index (BMI), T2DM and MetS in the Sohag population of
Egypt.