ICAM1 and VCAM1 polymorphisms, coronary artery calcium, and circulating levels of soluble ICAM-1: The multi-ethnic study of atherosclerosis (MESA)

Intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (VCAM-1) may be important contributors to the development and progression of atherosclerosis. Using a stratified random sample of 2880 participants of the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis we investigated the relationship of 12 ICAM1 and 17 VCAM1 SNPs and coronary artery calcium (CAC) and ICAM1 SNPs and circulating levels of soluble ICAM-1 (sICAM-1). There were no ICAM1 or VCAM1 SNPs significantly associated with CAC in any of the four race/ethnic groups. In a subset of 1451 subjects with sICAM-1 measurements, we observed a significant association with rs5491 in all four race/ethnic groups corroborating previous research that has shown that the T-allele of rs5491 interferes with the monoclonal antibody used to measure sICAM-1 in this study. After excluding all rs5491 T-allele carriers, several ICAM1 SNPs were significantly associated with sICAM-1 levels; rs5496 in African Americans, rs5498 and rs3093030 in European Americans, and rs1799969 in Hispanics. Our results identified ICAM1 polymorphisms that were significantly associated with sICAM-1 level but not CAC, a subclinical marker of atherosclerosis.