Blood pressure is partly controlled by O(-)(2) production by NADPH/NADH oxidase and recently it was shown that a C242T substitution in the p22phox gene was associated with coronary artery disease, in which elevated blood pressure and oxidative stress are also important pathophysiologic features.
Recently, it has been suggested that the C242T polymorphism of the NADH/NADPH oxidase p22 phox gene can reduce susceptibility to coronary artery disease.
The ecNOS gene a/b polymorphism and the NADH/NADPH oxidase p22 phox gene C242T polymorphism were found to be significantly associated with the development of CAD in Korean male patients less than 51 years old.
The genetic analysis of the p22 phox gene by restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) for control subject and patients with coronary artery disease revealed that the prevalence of the TC + TT genotype of the C242T polymorphism of the p22 phox gene in control subjects was significantly more frequent than in coronary artery disease patients, indicating that the mutation of the p22 phox gene might reduce the susceptibility for coronary artery disease, which is independent of other coronary risk factors.
Recently, a C/T polymorphism at position 242 of the p22 phox gene has been associated with coronary artery disease (CAD), suggesting a protective effect of the 242 T allele on the vasculature.
The p22 phoxC242T polymorphism is not associated with the occurrence or severity of CAD or with a history of MI in Australian Caucasian patients aged </= 65 years.
As atherosclerosis progressed, the expression of p22phox increased through the vessel wall. p22phox might participate in the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of atherosclerotic coronary disease.
The C242T polymorphism, located in the potential heme-binding site of the p22phox gene, has recently been reported to confer a protective effect on CAD risk in a Japanese study population.
Our observations allow the assumption that the p22 phoxA640G gene polymorphism is independently associated with the presence and extent of coronary artery disease.