Received February 11, 2008
Revised March 31, 2008
Accepted after revision May 6, 2008
Variation in the Lectin-like Oxidized LDL Receptor 1 (LOX-1) Gene Is Associated With Plasma Soluble LOX-1 Levels
Tina E Brinkley 1*,
Noriaki Kume 2,
Hirokazu Mitsuoka 2,
Michael D Brown 3,
Dana A Phares 4,
Robert E Ferrell 5,
Toru Kita 2,
James M Hagberg 4
1 Wake Forest University Health Sciences
2 Kyoto University
3 Temple University
4 University of Maryland, College Park
5 University of Pittsburgh
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: tiellis{at}wfubmc.edu.
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Abstract |
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The lectin-like ox-LDL receptor 1 (LOX-1) expressed on vascular cells plays a major role in atherogenesis by internalizing and degrading oxidized LDL. LOX-1 can be cleaved from the cell surface and released as soluble LOX-1 (sLOX-1), and elevated sLOX-1 levels may be indicative of atherosclerotic plaque instability. We examined associations between the LOX-1 3'UTR-C/T and G501C polymorphisms and plasma sLOX-1 levels in 97 healthy older men and women. The frequencies for the 3'UTR-T and 501C alleles were 46% and 10%, respectively. Plasma sLOX-1 levels were significantly higher in the 3'UTR CC genotype group compared to both the CT (p=0.02) and TT (p=0.002) genotype groups. Plasma sLOX-1 were also significantly higher in the 501GC genotype group compared to the GG genotype group (p=0.004). In univariate analyses, sLOX-1 levels were significantly associated with both the 3'UTR-C/T and G501 C polymorphisms. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age, gender, race, and BMI. In conclusion, variation in the LOX-1 gene is associated with plasma sLOX-1 levels in older men and women.
Key Words:
Cardiovascular, Gene expression, Receptor
