Association Study Between C-Reactive Protein Genes and Ischemic Stroke in Japanese Subjects

Background C-reactive protein (CRP) is reported to be involved in the development of atherosclerosis. Elevated CRP levels are considered to be a predictor of ischemic stroke (IS) in elderly individuals. Some single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) are reportedly associated with elevated CRP levels. The aims of this study were to genotype some of the SNP in the human CRP gene and to assess the association between the CRP gene and IS. Methods Japanese patients with IS (72.4 ± 8.2 years of age, n = 152) and elderly Japanese subjects without IS (78.0 ± 4.2 years of age, n = 304) were genotyped for four SNP of the human CRP gene: rs1341665, rs1800947, rs1130864, and rs1205. Each genotyping was performed using the TaqMan SNP genotyping assay. The haplotype-based association study was assessed with a permutation test. Results The genotype rs1800947 was statistically significant between patients with IS and control subjects (CC+GC versus GG variant, P = .016 by multiple logistic regression analysis). This analysis revealed that the CC+GC variant of rs1800947 was an independent risk factor of IS. All four SNP were located in one haplotype block. The haplotype was constructed using rs1341665, rs1800947, and rs1130864, in that order. There was a significant association between IS and the C-C-C haplotype (P = .015). Conclusions The rs1800947 SNP and the C-C-C haplotype in the CRP gene appear to be prognostic markers of ischemic stroke and this polymorphism could be a useful genetic marker.