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Background: Ischaemic heart disease (IHD) is a complex disease due to the combination of environmental and genetic factors. Mutations in the MEF2A gene have recently been reported in patients with IHD. In particular, a 21 base pair deletion (Δ7aa) in the MEF2A gene was identified in a family with an autosomal dominant pattern of inheritance of IHD. We investigated this region of the MEF2A gene using an Irish family-based study, where affected individuals had early-onset IHD.

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The possible role of the K469E polymorphism in the intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) gene in the susceptibility to ischaemic heart disease (IHD) was investigated in a well-defined Irish population using two recently described family-based tests of association. One thousand and twelve individuals from 386 families with at least one member prematurely affected with IHD were genotyped for the ICAM-1 K469E polymorphism. Using the combined transmission disequilibrium test (TDT)/sib-TDT and the pedigree disequilibrium test (PDT), no association between the ICAM-1 K469E polymorphism and IHD was found. Our data demonstrate that, in an Irish population, the ICAM-1 K469E polymorphism is not associated with IHD.

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Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains a leading cause of death across the world. A region on chromosome 9p21.3 has been recently reported to be associated with CHD. We evaluated 3 SNPs and 3 common haplotypes in the 9p21.3 region in 1494 individuals from 580 Irish families, where at least 1 member had early-onset (males ≤55yr, females ≤60yr) CHD. Genotypes were determined by multiplex SNaPshot technology. Using the combined TDT/S-TDT test, the 3 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP), rs10757274, rs2383206 and rs1333049, were strongly associated with early-onset CHD (p = 2.7 × 10-6, 2.7 × 10-6, 3.8 × 10-7, respectively). Analysis of haplotypes by the TRANSMIT program also showed that the GGC haplotype was associated with early-onset CHD (p = 7.9 × 10-7). In conclusion, using a family-based approach in the Irish population, we have confirmed previous reports of association between a region on chromosome 9p21.3 and early-onset CHD.

Background:The complement factor H (CFH) gene has been recently confirmed to play an essential role in the development of age-related macular degeneration (AMD). There are conflicting reports of its role in coronary heart disease. This study was designed to investigate if, using a familybased approach, there was an association between genetic variants of the CFH gene and risk of early-onset coronary heart disease.

BackgroundThe intermediate filament protein, nestin, may play a role in tissue regeneration and nestin expression has been detected in coronary atherosclerotic plaques. To date, no population-based studies concerning the role of the nestin gene in coronary heart disease (CHD) have been reported. Methods and ResultsThe 3 SNPs in the nestin gene were genotyped in 1,494 individuals from 580 Irish families. rs11582300 and rs3748570 were associated with early-onset CHD (p=0.04 and p=0.02). Conclusion Nestin gene variants are associated with early-onset CHD. Further research on nestin's role in atherosclerosis is required. (Circ J 2008; 72: 1538 -1539