Association of Polymorphisms of the Receptor for Advanced Glycation End Products Gene and Susceptibility to Sporadic Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Abstract

Accumulating evidence has suggested that receptor for advanced glycation end products (RAGE) is involved in the development and progression of human abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAAs). However, the association betweenRAGEgene polymorphisms and AAA has not yet been determined. The present study was aimed at analyzing the potential association between theRAGEgene polymorphisms and AAAs. A cohort of 381 patients and 436 age-matched healthy controls were genotyped to detect the threeRAGEpolymorphisms (−374 T/A, −429 T/C, and G82S) using SNaPshot. Our study demonstrated a significant difference in the genotype and allele frequencies of theRAGEG82S polymorphism between the AAA patients and the controls. Further stratification by gender and smoking status revealed that the presence of theRAGE82S allele confers a higher risk for developing AAA in men and smokers. Moreover, AAA patients with the variant 82S allele ofRAGEpresented with reduced serum soluble RAGE (sRAGE) production, and this decrease was more significant in men and smokers with AAA. Our study provides preliminary evidence that the 82S allele ofRAGEis a risk factor for AAA. This new piece of knowledge regarding RAGE may be clinically important for the prevention and therapy of AAAs.