Acyl Coenzyme A Synthetase Long-Chain 1 (ACSL1) Gene Polymorphism (rs6552828) and Elite Endurance Athletic Status: A Replication Study

The aim of this study was to determine the association between the rs6552828 polymorphism in acyl coenzyme A synthetase (ACSL1) and elite endurance athletic status. We studied 82 Caucasian (Spanish) World/Olympic-class endurance male athletes, and a group of sex and ethnically matched healthy young adults (controls, n = 197). The analyses were replicated in a cohort of a different ethnic origin (Chinese of the Han ethnic group), composed of elite endurance athletes (runners) [cases, n = 241 (128 male)] and healthy sedentary adults [controls, n = 504 (267 male)]. In the Spanish cohort, genotype (P = 0.591) and minor allele (A) frequencies were similar in cases and controls (P = 0.978). In the Chinese cohort, genotype (P = 0.973) and minor allele (G) frequencies were comparable in female endurance athletes and sedentary controls (P = 0.881), whereas in males the frequency of the G allele was higher in endurance athletes (0.40) compared with their controls (0.32, P = 0.040). The odds ratio (95%CI) for an elite endurance Chinese athlete to carry the G allele compared with ethnically matched controls was 1.381 (1.015–1.880) (P-value = 0.04). Our findings suggest that the ACSL1 gene polymorphism rs6552828 is not associated with elite endurance athletic status in Caucasians, yet a marginal association seems to exist for the Chinese (Han) male population.