Association of the platelet glycoprotein receptor IIIa (PlA1/PIA1) genotype with coronary artery disease in Arabs

The pI(A2) allele (heterozygotes or homozygotes) resulting from a genetic polymorphism in the glycoprotein Ilia gene has been proposed as a potential genetic factor linked to platelet hyperaggregability and increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). Such an association could only be established in some ethnic groups. There were no previous reports investigating the distribution of this allele and its possible link to CAD in Arabs. We used the polymerase chain reaction and allele-specific restriction digestion for determining the prevalence of this allele in 509 healthy blood donors (BD) and 451 angiographically confirmed CAD patients of Arabic ethnic background. For the BD group (n = 509), 70.7% were homozygous pI(A1)/ pI(A1), 26.9% were heterozygous pI(A1)/pI(A2) and 2.4% were homozygous pI(A2)/pI(A2). Within the CAD group (n = 451), 77.2% were homozygous pI(A1)/pI(A1), 19.5% were heterozygous pI(A1)/pI(A2) and 3.3% were homozygous pI(A2)/pI(A2). The pI(A1) allele frequency was 0.84 and 0.87, and for the pIA2 was 0.16 and 0.13 for the BD and CAD groups, respectively. In conclusion, our results suggest that the pI(A1)/pI(A1) genotype (P= 0.029) is associated with CAD in Saudi Arabs. (C) 2004 Lippincott Williams Wilkins.