Recent finding suggest that inflammation plays a role in atherosclerosis and its acute complications. Several known mechanisms may play at least a partial role in this process. One of the most likely mechanisms involves lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and its receptor, CD14. The C(-260)T single nucleotide polymorphism in the promoter region of the CD14 receptor gene has been reported to be associated with a higher risk of MI. Others studies, however, have not corroborated these findings. Considering the contradictory results, the aim of the present study was to investigate the possible association between the CD14 C(-260)T polymorphism and the risk of MI in the Tunisian population.

A total of 333 Tunisian patients with MI and 345 healthy controls were included in the study. Genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) analysis.

The frequency of TT homozygous genotype for the CD14 C(-260)T polymorphism was 24.9% in MI patients and 24.0% in the control group. However, the genotype distribution and allele frequencies were not significantly different between MI and controls subjects. Moreover, the odds ratio for MI associated with the T allele failed to reach statistical significance (OR = 1.08; 95% CI: 0.86 – 1.34; P = NS).

These results do not support the hypothesis that the C-260T polymorphism of CD14 gene contributes to the genetic susceptibility to MI in the Tunisian population studied.