The 8-oxoguanine glycosylase I (hOGG1) Ser326Cys variant affects the susceptibility to multi-vessel disease in Taiwan coronary artery disease patients

8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine, the key lesion of oxidative DNA damage, contributes to the development of coronary artery disease (CAD). In humans, 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine is repaired by the enzyme 8-oxoguanine glycosylase I (hOGG1). We investigated the association between the hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism and the presence and the severity of CAD in a Taiwan population. Genotypes of the hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism were determined from 1397 participants enrolled in this study (378 CAD patients and 1019 controls). CAD severity was indicated both by number of vessels affected (single-vessel disease, SVD vs. multi-vessel disease, MVD), and by individual diffuse score. Real-time polymerase chain reaction was used to determine genotype, using allele-specific TaqMan probes. We found that presence of the hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism was associated with a significantly increased risk of CAD and multi-vessel disease when assuming a dominant model of inheritance (OR: 1.52 [95%:1.082 ~ 2.133], p = 0.015; OR: 2.26 [95%:1.232 ~ 4.156], p = 0.007). This result was confirmed by multivariate analysis, after adjustment for age, gender, body-mass index, diabetes hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and smoking (OR: 1.78 [95%:1.127 ~ 2.806], p < 0.005; OR: 2.44 [95%:1.276 ~ 4.651], p < 0.001). In the present study, hOGG1 Ser326Cys polymorphism is a novel genetic marker to be independently associated with the development and severity of CAD in Taiwanese population.