A total of 142 Atherosclerotic cerebral infarction (ACI) patients and 116 controls were enrolled in our study. The Leu125Val polymorphism of PECAM-1 was genotyped using polymerase chain reaction-restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP) method. The plasma sPECAM-1 level was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method. We found a statistically significant difference in Leu125Val genotypic distribution between cases and controls (P < 0.05). The frequencies of the Val allele between ACI group and controls were significantly different (P < 0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the genotype Val/Val was associated with increased ACI risk (OR = 2.355, 95% CI = 1.153-4.809, P = 0.019). In both the ACI group and the control group, the plasma PECAM-1 levels of carriers of the Val/Val genotype were higher than those carrying Leu/Leu and Leu/Val genotypes. The plasma sPECAM-1 level is associated with ACI. Our study showed that Leu125Val polymorphism of PECAM-1 may be associated with ACI risk. Carrying the Val/Val genotype showed increased risk for ACI. The Leu125Val polymorphism of PECAM-1 may be associated with the plasma sPECAM-1 level, which is associated with Chinese ACI also. In conclusions, The Leu125Val polymorphism of the PECAM-1 gene is likely to be related to ACI, and the Val/Val genotype may be an independent risk factor for ACI. The plasma sPECAM-1 level may be associated with ACI risk.
Keywords: Platelet-endothelial cell adhesion molecule-1 (PECAM-1); atherosclerotic cerebral infarction (ACI); polymorphism; restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP).