Received on May 10, 2004
Accepted on July 27, 2004

Lipids, Lipoproteins, and Cardiovascular Risk Factors

Platelet-Activating Factor Acetylhydrolase Is Not Associated with Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Hypercholesterolemic Sicilian Individuals

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, School of Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.
² Institute of Statistical Science, School of Medicine, University of Messina, Messina, Italy.

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: asaitta{at}unime.it.

Background: Atherosclerosis is a complex, chronic disease that usually arises from the converging action of several pathogenic processes, including hypertension, hyperlipidemia, obesity, and the accumulation of oxidized LDL. Platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH) is a LDL- and HDL-bound enzyme that hydrolyzes and inactivates PAF and prevents LDL-cholesterol oxidation, thus delaying the onset of atherosclerotic disease.

Methods: We evaluated the relationship between variants of the PAF-AH gene polymorphisms Arg92His, Ile198Thr, and Ala379Val and the presence of carotid atherosclerosis in 190 hypercholesterolemic Sicilian individuals. Carotid artery intima-media wall thickness (IMT) was measured as an indicator of early atherosclerotic disease. The participants were classified according to having normal (1 mm) or abnormal (1 mm) IMT and were also investigated for physical characteristics and biochemical indices, including PAF-AH activity.

Results: PAF-AH activity and LDL concentrations were significantly correlated in hypercholesterolemic patients, but plasma PAF-AH activity and HDL were not significantly correlated in either IMT group. No significant differences were detected among the PAF-AH gene polymorphisms in both groups after correction for age, sex, body mass index, plasma glucose and lipid concentrations, PAF-AH activity, blood pressure, and smoking habits. The analysis of PAF-AH genotype distribution showed no significant differences in percentage of 92, 198, and 379 genotypes in both IMT groups.

Conclusion: Our data provided no evidence that PAF-AH polymorphisms influence PAF-AH activity and atherosclerosis in hypercholesterolemic Sicilian patients.