Assessment of the Effect of HMGCR Variant Alleles on Response to Atorvastatin Treatment in Type 2 Diabetic Egyptian Patients

Abstract

Use of 3 hydroxyl-3-methylglutaryl-3-coenzyme A reductase (HMGCR) inhibitors, or statins, reduces the progress and the complications of diabetes mellitus by modifying the lipid profile. The aim of this study was to assess the association between variation in statin response and the single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) rs12916 C/T in the gene encoding HMGCR, a rate limiting enzyme in cholesterol synthesis and the target enzymatic reaction of statins. A total of 96 Egyptian patients with type 2 diabetic dyslipidemia were treated with atorvastatin 20 mg/day for 3 months. Total cholesterol, triglyceride, low density lipoprotein–cholesterol (LDL-C), high density lipoprotein–cholesterol (HDL-C) plasma concentrations were measured at baseline and at the end of the treatment period together with genetic screening for SNP rs 12916 C/T. It was found that individuals with the CC genotype showed a mean reduction in LDL-C level of about 31.57 ± 87.52 mg/dl (p=0.24), while the reduction in the CT and TT genotypes was 28.50 ± 72.74 mg/dl (P=0.04) and 26.15 ± 101.45 mg/dl (p=0.06), respectively. It is concluded that there is no significant association between this SNP rs12916 C/T and response to atorvastatin therapy in type 2 dyslipidemic diabetic Egyptian patients.