Determinants of variable response to simvastatin treatment: the role of common variants of SCAP, SREBF-1a and SREBF-2 genes.

We investigated the effect of single-nucleotide polymorphisms in sterol regulatory element-binding factors-1a and -2 (SREBF-1a and SREBF-2) and SREBF cleavage-activating protein (SCAP) genes on lipid-lowering response to simvastatin. In all, 146 hypercholesterolemic patients of European descent were prospectively treated with simvastatin 20 mg/day for over 6 months. Of these 99 subjects completed the 6-month follow-up. Plasma lipids and lipoproteins were measured before and throughout the study. The mean percentage decrease in plasma total cholesterol (TC) was greater in subject carriers of SCAP 2386G allele compared with those homozygous for 2386A allele (-29.6+/-13.4 vs -22.1+/-13.8%, P=0.007). About 61% of the 2386G carriers were above-average responders for TC levels (DeltaTC -27.8%), whereas only 29% of 2386A homozygous reached this reduction (P=0.009). Our data suggest that the SCAP 2386A>G gene polymorphism was a significant predictor of TC and triglyceride responses to simvastatin treatment.