Relation of the Leu40Arg variant of glycoprotein IIIA to personal and family history of myocardial infarction

GPIIb/IIIa fibrinogen receptor is a key element of the thrombotic pathway. In this study, we investigated the possible relation of PlA1/A2 polymorphism (1565T>C; Leu33Pro) and a rare 1586T>G (Leu40Arg) variation of GPIIIa gene to personal and family history of myocardial infarction (MI) among 601 patients with angiographically confirmed coronary heart disease. Four hundred and fifteen patients had MI and 94 of individuals reported family history of premature MI. The Arg40 (1586G) variant (n = 4) was present exclusively in MI-patients and significantly correlated with a family history of premature MI (P = 0.013), whereas the Pro33 (1565C; PlA2) allele (n = 204) was similarly prevalent among different groups of patients. These data indicate the importance of the Arg40 variant but do not support a significant role of Pro33 allele in susceptibility to MI.