Integrin α2 gene polymorphism is a risk factor of coronary artery lesions in Chinese children with Kawasaki disease.

Background: Kawasaki disease (KD) is a systemic vasculitis, and the formation of coronary artery lesions(CAL) is its most common sequela. Both genetic and environmental factors are considered to be important factors of in KD. Integrin α2 (ITGA2) is a transmembrane receptor that is associated with susceptibility to several diseases, but its relevance to KD with CAL is unclear.

Methods: We genotyped ITGA2 rs1126643 in 785 KD patients with the CAL and no-CAL(NCAL) (300 patients with CAL, and 485 age- and sex-matched patients with NCAL). OR (95% CI) and adjusted OR (95% CI) were used to evaluate the intensity of the association.

Results: We found a significantly increased risk of KD with CAL associated with ITGA2 rs1126643 genotypes (CT vs CC: adjusted OR = 1.57, 95% CI = 1.16-2.12, P = 0.0032; CT/TT vs CC: adjusted OR = 1.49, 95% CI = 1.12-2.00, P = 0.0068; T vs C: adjusted OR = 1.66, 95% CI = 1.16-2.51, P = 0.0165). Moreover, we found that carriers of the CT/TT genotype had a significant risk of KD with coronary artery lesion susceptibility for children ≤60 months of age, and the CT/TT genotype was significantly associated with an increased risk of SCAL formation and MCAL formation when compared with the CC genotype.

Conclusion: ITGA2 rs1126643 was associated with increased susceptibility and severity of CAL in KD.