Abstract
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: Stroke is a cerebrovascular disorder characterized by vessel occlusion or rupture, resulting in brain damage and subsequent physical impairment. Recent studies have implicated hevin-calcyon protein binding in the repair of brain injury. Secreted protein acidic and rich in cysteine-like 1 (SPARCL1) encodes hevin. This study investigated SPARCL1 gene polymorphisms in ischemic stroke to identify potential biomarkers for brain injury treatment. METHODS: we examined the associations of SPARCL1 polymorphisms (rs1049544, rs1130643, rs7695558, rs1049539) with ischemic stroke. This case-control study involved 387 controls and 509 patients with ischemic stroke. Genotyping was performed via real-time polymerase chain reaction with the TaqMan™ SNP Genotyping Kit. RESULTS: The rs1049544 polymorphism was significantly associated with ischemic stroke prevalence (GG vs. CC: adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 0.642, p = 0.043; GG + GC vs. CC: AOR = 0.671, p = 0.045). Additionally, rs1049544 was significantly associated with large-artery disease prevalence (GG vs. CC: AOR = 0.489, p = 0.028; GG + GC vs. CC: AOR = 0.527, p = 0.033), and rs1130643 (TT vs. TC: AOR = 0.362, p = 0.039) was associated with cardioembolism prevalence in ischemic stroke subtype analysis. In haplotype analysis, G-G (rs1049544/rs7695558; odds ratio = 4.942, p = 0.001) and C-T (rs1049544/rs1049539; odds ratio = 0.776, p = 0.043) haplotypes were associated with ischemic stroke prevalence. Although some genotypes were not individually associated with ischemic stroke, the presence of the rs1049544 C allele appeared to enhance risk. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that SPARCL1 polymorphisms are associated with ischemic stroke and may be considered potential biomarkers for risk assessment.