Finally, healthy subjects homozygous for Cx37-1019C, a prognostic marker for atherosclerosis, display increased platelet responses compared with subjects carrying the Cx37-1019T allele.
B-mode carotid ultrasound was performed among 3330 healthy adults in the CVDFACT cohort study, and the genetic effects of atherosclerosis-related genes including connexin37 (GJA4), C-reactive protein (CRP), paraoxonase (PON1), adiponectin (ACDC), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE), beta-adrenergic receptor (ADRB1, ADRB2), antithrombin III (SERPINC1), and kinesin family member 6 (KIF6) were evaluated by a multivariate regression model, adjusting for traditional vascular risk factors.
In this study, we examined interactions between the Cx37 polymorphism and common risk factors and their associations to early vascular parameters of atherosclerosis: carotid artery intima-media thickness (IMT), and carotid artery compliance (CAC) and brachial artery flow mediated dilatation (FMD).
This review focuses on Cx37 and its impact on the cellular and molecular events underlying tissue function, with particular emphasis of the contribution of the C1019T polymorphism in atherosclerosis.