Genotyping of Lipoprotein(a) Gene Variants in Coronary Artery Disease in Indian Population

India is undergoing an epidemiological transition and an alarming rise in the prevalence of coronary artery disease (CAD). The etiopathology of the disease is evolving to a more complex setting with the discovery of novel risk factors. In the quest for non-traditional risk factors, we found that Lipoprotein(a) gene and its product are unique and pertinent to the Indian population. To unravel the genetic blueprint of the variations within the LPA gene in Indians, we studied novel exonic and intronic SNPs in 60 patients with angiographically proven CAD and matched them with healthy volunteers. From the study, we observed that in our patients, LPA aspirin genotype rs3798220 did not cause variation in Lp(a) levels in either of the two groups which is a novel finding as it is at odds with most published studies from other populations, on this variant. The polymorphic allele of SNP rs1321196 increased serum Lp(a) levels but the presence of the variant was however not limited to the patient population. The SNP rs9364564 did not influence Lp(a) levels in either of the two groups of the study. The study is unique as it bears witness to the novelty of the genotype background in Indian patients with CAD.