CTSS promoter -25G/A: not a risk factor for CHD in Chinese.

Atherosclerosis is an inflammatory disease characterized by extensive remodelling of the extracellular matrix architecture of the arterial wall. Recent data suggested the participation of lysosomal cysteine proteases such as cathepsin S (CTSS) in atherogenesis. The G/A polymorphism at nucleotide -25 was reported to be located in the promoter of the CTSS gene. The aim of this study was to observe the association between CTSS -25G/A polymorphism and the risk of coronary heart disease (CHD) in a Chinese population sample. The polymerase chain reaction and restriction digestion methods were performed to screen the CTSS gene -25G/A polymorphism in a Chinese population sample with (n = 659) or without CHD (n = 352). Traditional risk factors for CHD were obtained simultaneously. The frequencies of the G and A allele in the total population was 0.630 and 0.370, respectively. The frequencies of -25G/A polymorphism in the CTSS gene (G: 0.626 vs. 0.633, P > 0.05; A: 0.374 vs. 0.367, P > 0.05) and the genotype distribution (G: 83.4 vs. 85.3, P > 0.05; A: 58.0 vs. 58.5, P > 0.05) were similar between CHD patients and control subjects. Moreover, CTSS genotype was not associated with severity of coronary stenosis (P > 0.05) in CHD patients. The CTSS -25G/A polymorphism was not related with CHD in our Chinese population sample.