OBJECTIVETo investigate the association between the plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) 4G/5G gene polymorphism and the occurrence of myocardial and cerebrovascular infarctions in individuals from Tianjin, China.

METHODSThe PAI-1 genotype was determined using allele-specific polymerase chain reaction (AS-PCR) in 56 myocardial infarction (MI) patients, 54 cerebrovascular infarction (CI) patients and 83 unrelated healthy controls. All subjects' clinical features and plasma PAI-1 activity levels were determined.

RESULTSThe PAI-1 genotype distribution frequency of the single guanine deletion/insertion 4G/5G polymorphism (located -675 bp upstream from the start of transcription) significantly differed between the patients and healthy controls. In the MI group, the 4G/4G-genotype frequency was increased, but the 4G/5G-genotype is decreased when compared to the control group. In the CI group, both the 4G/4G- and 4G/5G -genotypes occurred at a lower frequency than those in the control group (P < 0.001). The plasma PAI-1 activity level in the MI group was lowered as the presence of the 4G allele decreases. In the CI group, the frequency of 5G/5G was much higher than that of the control group (P < 0.001). The plasma PAI-1 activity level in the CI group was elevated as the presence of the 5G allele increased. Furthermore, positive correlation between triglyceride, glucose levels and PAI-1 activity were found in all three groups (P < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONSThe PAI-1 4G/5G gene polymorphism is associated with a higher risk of MI and CI in individuals in Tianjin, China. The deletion/insertion polymorphism is probably an important hereditary risk factor for heart diseases. Moreover, triglyceride and glucose levels of plasma have functional importance in regulating PAI-1 activity.