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Thromb Haemost 1999; 81(06): 853-856
DOI: 10.1055/s-0037-1614586
Letters to the Editor
Schattauer GmbH

A Synergistic Effect of Serotonin Transporter Gene Polymorphism and Smoking in Association with CHD

Tadao Arinami
,
Tsuyuka Ohtsuki
,
Kimiko Yamakawa-Kobayashi
,
Hiroshi Amemiya
1   From the Department of Medical Genetics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Division of Cardiology and Tsuchiura Kyodo General Hospital, Japan
,
Hideomi Fujiwara
1   From the Department of Medical Genetics, Institute of Basic Medical Sciences, University of Tsukuba, Division of Cardiology and Tsuchiura Kyodo General Hospital, Japan
,
Ken-ichi Kawata
2   Rural Health Care Center, Tsuchiura Kyodo General Hospital, Japan
,
Hiroki Ishiguro
,
Hideo Hamaguchi
› Author Affiliations
Further Information

Publication History

Received 31 December 1998

Accepted after revision 22 February 1999

Publication Date:
09 December 2017 (online)

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Summary

Serotonin induces vasoconstriction in the presence of atherosclerotic lesions. Platelets acquire serotonin from the extracellular space by serotonin transporter and release it following aggregation. There is a functional polymorphism in the serotonin transporter (5-HTT) gene promoter associated with transcriptional efficacy and plasma serotonin levels. To examine whether the polymorphism is associated with coronary heart disease (CHD) in the Japanese, we analyzed 144 male CHD patients with an onset age before 65 and 222 apparently healthy men. The L allele was observed significantly more frequently in the CHD patients (26%) than in the control subjects (19%); the odds ratio was 1.48 (p <0.03). A significant interaction between the polymorphism and smoking was observed for CHD (p = 0.03), suggesting that the two have a synergistic effect on CHD. Odds ratio of the combination of the L allele and smoking was 1.95 (p <0.003). The 5-HTT gene promoter polymorphism may play a role in susceptibility to CHD, particularly when it is combined with smoking.

 

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