Yilan Li, Yanxiu Zhang, Xueming Xu, Lei Bi, Meiling Zhang and Bo Yu
Background: The long noncoding RNAs (lncRNAs) have gradually been reported to be an important class of RNAs with pivotal roles in the development and progression of myocardial infarction (MI). In this study, we hypothesized that genetic variant of cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor 2B antisense RNA (ANRIL) and metastasisassociated lung adenocarcinoma transcript 1 (MALAT1) may affect the prognosis of MI patients. Methods: The study included 401 Han Chinese MI patients and 409 controls. Four lncRNA tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs)-ANRIL rs9632884 and rs1537373, MALAT1 rs619586 and rs3200401were selected. SNP genotyping was performed by an improved multiplex ligation detection reaction assay. A systematic review and metaanalysis of studies including 9,807 cases and 9.326 controls on the association of five ANRIL SNPs and the overall risk of MI or coronary artery disease (CAD) was performed. Results: rs9632884 and rs3200401 SNPs were significantly associated with lipid levels in both controls and MI patients (P<0.003-0.046). Several SNPs interacted with sex and age to modify total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and creatinine levels to modify the risk of MI. No association between the lncRNAs SNPs and susceptibility to MI was found (P>0.05 for all). In the meta-analysis, rs4977574 A>G and rs1333049 G>C ANRIL polymorphisms, but not rs1333040, rs1333042 or rs10757274, were correlated with overall MI or CAD risk. Conclusions: Taken together, this study provides additional evidence that genetic variation of the ANRIL rs9632884 and MALAT1 rs3200401 can mediate lipid levels in MI patients.