The ZC3HC1 rs11556924 polymorphism is associated with increased carotid intima-media thickness in patients with rheumatoid arthritis

Abstract Introduction Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) is a complex polygenic disease associated with chronic inflammation, accelerated atherosclerosis and increased cardiovascular (CV) mortality. A recent meta-analysis has described the ZC3HC1 rs11556924 polymorphism as one of the most important signals associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) in non-rheumatic Caucasian individuals. In this study we evaluated the potential association of this gene polymorphism with subclinical atherosclerosis assessed by the evaluation of carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) in RA patients. Methods This study included 502 RA patients from Northern Spain. The ZC3HC1 rs11556924 polymorphism was genotyped with TaqMan single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) genotyping assays (C__31283062_10) in a 7900HT real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) system. cIMT was also assessed in these patients by carotid ultrasonography (US) technology. Results RA patients carrying the TT genotype had significantly higher cIMT values than those homozygous for the CC genotype (mean ± standard deviation (SD): 0.76 ± 0.18 mm and mean ± SD: 0.71 ± 0.16 mm respectively; P = 0.03) even after adjusting the results for sex, age at the time of US study, follow-up time and traditional CV risk factors (P = 0.04) evidencing that the effect conferred by ZC3HC1 rs11556924 polymorphism is independent of the traditional CV risk factors. Conclusion Our results indicate that ZC3HC1 rs11556924 polymorphism is associated with subclinical atherosclerosis in RA.This study was supported by grants from 'Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias’ PI06/0024, PS09/00748 and PI12/00060 (Spain). This work was also partially supported by RETICS Programs, RD08/0075 (RIER) and RD12/0009/0013 from 'Instituto de Salud Carlos III’ (ISCIII) (Spain). RLMPeer Reviewe