OBJECTIVETo assess the association of rs216293 T/G and rs1063857 T/C polymorphisms of von Willebrand factor (vWF) gene with the morbidity of coronary artery disease (CAD) and the number of involved vessels among an ethnic Han Chinese population from Zhejiang province.

METHODSA case-control study was conducted. For 246 patients and 156 unaffected controls, the frequencies of genotypes and alleles of the rs216293T/G and rs1063857T/C polymorphisms were determined, and their association with CAD and the numbers of involved vessels were assessed.

RESULTSThe frequencies of G allele of rs216293 and C allele of rs1063857 were higher in the CAD patients compared with those of the controls (30.3% vs.23.7%, chi-square=4.107, P=0.043; 7.7% vs. 4.2%, chi-square=4.066, P=0.044). The G allele of the rs216293 polymorphism and C allele of the rs1063857 polymorphism were both higher in the CAD patients compared with the controls (53.7% vs.41.0%, chi-square=6.098, P=0.014; 15.4% vs. 8.3%, chi-square=4.361, P=0.037). After adjusting the influence factors by logistic regression analysis, the G allele carriers of rs216293 and the C allele carriers of rs1063857 showed an increased risk for CAD (OR=1.625, 95%CI: 1.060-2.492, P=0.026; OR=2.305, 95% CI: 1.142-4.654, P=0.040). No significant difference was detected in the frequency of both rs216293 and rs1063857 among patients with single or multiple vessels (P>0.05).

CONCLUSIONThe rs216293T/G and rs1063857T/C polymorphisms of the vWF gene are both associated with the risk for CAD among the selected population. The G allele of the rs216293 polymorphism and C allele of the rs1063857 polymorphism may be the genetic determinants for CAD.