MTHFR ABSTRACTS: Thermolabile methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase in patients with coronary artery disease.

Kang SS, Wong PW, Zhou JM, Sora J, Lessick M, Ruggie N, Grcevich G Department of Pediatrics, Rush Medical College, Chicago, IL 60612. [Metabolism 1988 Jul;37(7):611-3]

Thermostability of lymphocyte methylenetetrahydrofolate reductase (MTHFR) was determined in 21 patients aged less than 50 years with proven coronary artery disease, and in 21 age- and sex-matched controls without clinical evidence of vascular disease. The mean +/- SD of residual activity after heat inactivation at 46 degrees C for five minutes was 37.6% +/- 5.6% in the controls. In contrast, patients with coronary artery disease could be divided into two subgroups. Fifteen of them had 38.1 +/- 5.9% residual activity which was similar to that of the controls. In six of them the mean +/- SD residual activity after heat inactivation was 13.6% +/- 5.1% which was below 2 SD of the normal mean. These observations suggested that thermolabile MTHFR was associated with development of coronary artery disease.

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