Atherosclerosis is morphologically an inflammatory disease, where endothelial dysfunction plays a key role in all the stages. The nitric oxide (NO) synthase 3 (NOS3) gene is responsible for the synthesis of endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) in humans and some genetic polymorphisms are considered "polymorphisms associated with risk" for the development of coronary artery diseases, such as acute coronary syndrome. Thus, the present study aimed to evaluate the influence of the -786T>C polymorphism of the eNOS gene on inflammatory and oxidative process. A prospective cohort study of 125 consecutive patients with clinical diagnosis of non-ST-elevation acute coronary syndromes was conducted. Patients were assessed using a standardized questionnaire. Blood samples were drawn to measure serum levels of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein, soluble CD40 ligand, interleukin-6 (IL-6), N-terminal prohormone of brain natriuretic peptide, immunoglobulin G antibodies against oxidized low-density lipoprotein. The genotypes for the -786T>C polymorphism in the 5'-flanking region of eNOS gene were determined. The -786C allele was found in 92 of 250 alleles (38.8%). No statistical association was observed between demographic and clinical characteristics and distribution of eNOS-786T>C polymorphism. We found that -786CC was associated with lower levels of IL-6. No significant differences were observed between the distribution of -786T>C polymorphism and other investigated markers.
Keywords: Acute coronary syndrome; eNOS polymorphism; inflammation; interleukin-6.