Background: Previous studies have suggested a positive association between phenotypes of fucosyltransferase 3 (FUT3) gene (also known as Lewis gene) and coronary heart disease.
Methods: We used data on 1735 unrelated subjects in the Framingham Offspring Study to assess whether 3 functional single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) of the FUT3 gene (T59G, T1067A, and T202C) were associated with prevalent atherothrombotic disease.
Results: Contrary to T1067A and T202C SNPs, there was evidence for an association between T59G SNP and atherothrombotic disease prevalence. In a multivariable model controlling for age, sex, alcohol intake, pack-years of smoking, ratio of total to high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and diabetes mellitus, ORs (95% CI) for prevalent atherothrombotic disease were 1.0 (reference), 0.80 (0.46-1.41), and 6.70 (1.95-23.01) for TT, TG, and GG genotypes of the T59G SNP, respectively. Minor alleles of T202C and T1067A SNPs showed a modest and nonsignificant association with atherothrombotic disease. Overall, FUT3 polymorphism that influences the enzyme activity (GG genotype for T59G or > or = 1 minor allele of T202C or T1067A) was associated with increased atherothrombotic disease prevalence (OR 1.57, 1.05-2.34), and this association was stronger among abstainers (2-fold increased odds) than among current drinkers (P for interaction .11).
Conclusions: Our data suggest that functional mutations of the FUT3 gene may be associated with an increased atherothrombotic disease prevalence, especially among abstainers. Additional studies are warranted to confirm these findings.