The rs522616 polymorphism in the matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) gene is associated with sporadic brain arteriovenous malformation in a Chinese population

In this study, we investigated the association between common variants in the matrix metalloproteinase-3 (MMP-3) gene and the risk of developing sporadic brain arteriovenous malformation (BAVM). We performed genotyping analyses for five single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in MMP-3 in a case-control study involving 319 Chinese patients with BAVM and 333 Chinese controls. The association between MMP-3 genotypes and the risk of developing BAVM was evaluated using logistic regression analyses. We found that the genotype frequencies were significantly different between patients and controls for the rs522616 A > G variant of MMP-3 (p = 0.02). Logistic regression analysis revealed that the variant genotype of this polymorphism was associated with a significantly decreased risk of BAVM (adjusted odds ratio = 0.62, 95% confidence interval = 0.44–0.87, p = 0.006 for the AG compared with the AA genotype; adjusted odds ratio = 0.68, 95% confidence interval = 0.49–0.94, p = 0.019 for the AG + GG compared with the AA genotype). These findings indicate for the first time that the MMP-3 rs522616 polymorphism may contribute to the etiology of sporadic BAVM in the Chinese population.