A total of 300 subjects were recruited into this study of which 100 were SA Indian males with CAD, 100 age- (range 24-45 years), gender- and race-matched controls and 100 age-matched black SA males. The frequency of the UCP2 ? 866G/A and UPC3 ? 55C/T genotypes was assessed by polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP).
The heterozygous UCP2 ? 866G/A and homozygous UCP3 ? 55C/C genotypes occurred at highest frequency in CAD patients (60 % and 64 % , respectively) compared to SA Indian controls (52 % and 63 % ) and SA Black controls (50 % and 58 % ). The UCP2 ? 886G/A (OR = 1.110; 95 % CI = 0.7438-1.655; p = 0.6835) and UCP3 ? 55C/T (OR = 0.788; 95 % CI = 0.482-1.289; p = 0.382) polymorphisms did not influence the risk of CAD.
The rare homozygous UCP3 ? 55T/T genotype was associated with highest fasting glucose (11.87 ¡À 3.7 mmol/L vs. C/C:6.11 ¡À 0.27 mmol/L and C/T:6.48 ¡À 0.57 mmol/L, p = 0.0025), HbA1c (10.05 ¡À 2.57 % vs. C/C:6.44 ¡À 0.21 % and C/T:6.76 ¡À 0.35 % , p = 0.0006) and triglycerides (6.47 ¡À 1.7 mmol/L vs. C/C:2.33 ¡À 0.17 mmol/L and C/T:2.06 ¡À 0.25 mmol/L, p < 0.0001) in CAD patients.
The frequency of the UCP2 ? 866G/A and UCP3 ? 55C/T polymorphisms was similar in our SA Indian and SA Black groups. The presence of the UCP2 ? 866G/A and UCP3 ? 55C/T polymorphisms does not influence the risk of CAD in young South African Indian CAD patients.