C-reactive protein 3′ UTR +1444C>T polymorphism in patients with spontaneous venous thromboembolism

Objective Data on C-reactive protein (CRP) as a risk indicator of venous thromboembolism are conflicting. A recent study reported higher CRP levels in homozygous carriers of a novel CRP gene polymorphism at the 3′ UTR (CRP +1444C>T). We investigated, whether homozygosity for CRP +1444C>T is associated with an increased risk of spontaneous venous thromboembolism (VTE). Methods and results CRP +1444C>T genotype and plasma levels were assessed in 128 patients with deep venous thrombosis (DVT, 70 females/58 males), 105 with pulmonary embolism (PE, 58 females/47 males) and 122 healthy individuals (60 females/62 males). CRP +1444TT was significantly associated with increased CRP plasma levels in healthy individuals. CRP +1444TT was more frequent (14%) among controls than DVT patients (9%, p = 0.26) or PE patients (6%, p = 0.05), respectively. No significant deviation from Hardy–Weinberg equilibrium was observed in patients (p = 0.8) or controls (p = 0.3), respectively. CRP +1444C>T was not significantly associated with CRP levels in patients with VTE. Conclusions Homozygous carriers of the CRP 3′ UTR +1444C>T polymorphism do not have a significantly increased risk of VTE. Our data support the assumption that a clinically relevant association between CRP and VTE is missing.