Association of thrombospondin-1 gene polymorphisms with myocardial infarction in a Chinese Han population

Thrombospondins (TSPs) are a family of multidomainextracellular matrix glycoproteins,which consist offive members at present,TSP-1,-2,-3,-4 and TSP-5.TSP-1,which is synthesized and secreted by activatedplatelets and a variety of cell types including endothelialcells,macrophages,monotypes,fibroblasts,tumor cellsand vascular smooth muscular cells,is the bestcharacterized family member.TSP-1 participates in awide range of biological responses,including plateletactivation and aggregation,vascular smooth muscular cellproliferation and migration,endothelial cell apoptosis andangiogenesis.TSP-1 may be involved in thepathogenesis of atherosclerosis and coronary arterydisease (CAD)/myocardial infarction (MI).