Human C-reactive protein (CRP) 1059G/C polymorphism

We found a novel G --> C change at nucleotide 1059 within exon 2 of the CRP gene encoding the C-reactive protein. The CRP 1059G/C polymorphism could b e detected by digestion with endonuclease MaeIII. The frequency of the CRP 1059C allele was 0.109 in Caucasians, but it was absent from Canadian Oji-C ree. Because of the importance of the CRP gene product in inflammation and its recent association with ischemic heart disease syndromes, this polymorp hism may be useful in the association studies of atherosclerosis and its re lated phenotypes.