Proinflammatory cytokine IFN-γ, lncRNA BANCR and the occurrence of coronary artery disease

Coronary artery disease (CAD) ranks the leading cause of death globally. Interferon-γ (IFN-γ) gene, along with long noncoding RNA (lncRNA) BRAF-activated noncoding RNA (BANCR), could coordinately function in the occurrence of CAD. We hypothesized that level of IFN-γ, genetic variants of IFN-γ and BANCR gene should be associated with the occurrence of CAD. A case-control study was conducted in Chinese population. We found that serum level of IFN-γ in CAD cases was significantly higher than that in controls (P < 0.001). Compared with the first quartile, all of the second (OR: 1.87; 95% CIs: 1.33–2.62), the third (OR: 1.79; 95% CIs: 1.30–2.45), and the fourth (OR: 3.98; 95% CIs: 2.59–6.12) quartiles of serum level of IFN-γ were associated with increased risk of CAD (P < 0.05). We found IFN-γ gene (rs2069705 and rs2430561), and 2 variants in lncRNA BANCR (rs6559446 and rs79823312) could increase CAD susceptibility in allelic and dominant model, while IFN-γ rs2069705 and rs2430561, BANCR rs79823312 were also associated with CAD risk in additive model. IFN-γ rs2069705 and rs2430561 were associated with higher level of serum IFN-γ in CAD patients (P < 0.001). This study confirmed the crucial role of IFN-γ and lncRNA BANCR in the occurrence of CAD, and might serve as the biomarkers of CAD screening and prevention.