Associations of platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase gene polymorphisms with risk of ischemic stroke

Platelet-activating factor acetylhydrolase (PAF-AH) has an important function in the pathogenesis of ischemic stroke. The aim of the present study was to investigate the correlation between the variation of polymorphisms (R92H and V279F) in PAF-AH and ischemic stroke. A total of 375 patients with ischemic stroke and 370 healthy controls were recruited into the study. Polymorphisms of V279F and R92H in PAF-AH were detected by polymerase chain reaction and DNA direct sequencing method. No significant association was observed between V279F and ischemic stroke. However, the RH+HH genotype, RH genotype and H allele of R92H were significantly associated with an increased risk of ischemic stroke (P=0.02, P=0.03 and P=0.02, respectively), In addition, these correlations remained following adjustment for confounding risk factors of stroke. Furthermore, subgroup analysis showed that a significant association with R92H was identified in the large-artery atherosclerotic stroke subgroup. These findings indicated that variation of R92H in the PAF-AH gene may contribute to ischemic stroke susceptibility in the population studied.