Interleukin-17 is Not Associated with Risk of Premature Coronary Artery Disease in Iranian Turks.

Cardiovascular diseases are one of the most important causes of death globally. Results of recent studies have indicated that cytokine dysregulation was associated with premature coronary artery disease (P-CAD). The majority of cytokine gene polymorphisms influence the level of cytokine production and secretion. This study aimed to analyse IL-17 gene expression in patients with P-CAD and healty individuals in an Iranian population. This case-control study, conducted in Urmia University of Medical Sciences, compared patients with P-CAD hospitalised for risk of coronary artery stenosis, those admitted for medical cares and healthy normal controls. Thirty patients with P-CAD and 30 healthy individuals entered the study. The tested individulas were selected according to strict criteria such as clinical, echocardiogram, electrocardiogram and coronary angiography findings. Individuals with diabetes type 1 or 2 were excluded from the study. Reducing the diameter of at least one of the coronary arteries with more than 50% obstruction was selected as P-CAD. The qRT-PCR technique was used to determine the level of IL-17 gene expression in the studied groups. IL-17 gene expression was compared between the tested groups using t-test or Mann-Whitney U-test. Subjects' mean age (±SE) was 45(±5) and 44 (±4) among tested cases and related controls, respectively. The relative mRNA expression was 4.04±2.4 in patients with P-CAD and 2.75±1.3 in controls for IL-17. IL-17 gene expression was not significantly different in the tested groups (P> 0.05). IL-17 is not associated with risk of P-CAD in Iranian Turks.