A meta-analysis of Italian and Estonian individuals shows an effect of common variants in HMGCR on blood apoB levels.

Aim: The aim of the study was to explore the effects of variants at 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase (HMGCR) andkinesin family member 6 (KIF6) loci on a range of cardio-metabolic phenotypes. Methods: We analyzed the range of variants within Genetics in Brisighella Health Study and KIF6 genes using an additive genetic model on 18 cardiometabolic phenotypes in a sample of 1645 individuals from the Genetics in Brisighella Health Study and replicated in 10,662 individuals from the Estonian Genome Center University of Tartu. Results: We defined directly the effects of rs3846662:C>A atHMGCR on apoB levels. The analysis also confirmed effects of on low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol and total cholesterol levels.VariantsinKIF6genedidnotrevealanyassociationswithcardiometabolicphenotypes.Conclusion: This study highlights effect of HMGCR locus on assay-determined apoB levels, an infrequent measure of blood lipids in large studies