Interaction of Folate Intake and the Paraoxonase Q192R Polymorphism with Risk of Incident Coronary Heart Disease and Ischemic Stroke: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Study

To investigate the potential interaction between folate intake and the PON1 Q192R polymorphism with the risk of incident CHD and ischemic stroke in the ARIC study – a population-based prospective cohort of cardiovascular disease in 15,792 whites and African Americans

SELP and SELPLG Genetic Variation Is Associated with Cell Surface Measures of SELP and SELPLG: The Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities Carotid MRI Study

P-selectin (SELP) and its ligand, P-selectin glycoprotein ligand 1 (SELPLG), play key roles in both the inflammatory response and the atherosclerotic process. Previous studies have shown genetic variation in the SELP gene [selectin P (granule membrane protein 140kDa, antigen CD62)] to be associated with plasma SELP concentrations; however, the major biological function of SELP (and SELPLG) is at the cell surface. We therefore investigated the association of SELP polymorphisms with platelet SELP measures and polymorphisms in the SELPLG gene (selectin P ligand) with lymphocyte, granulocyte, and monocyte SELPLG measures among 1870 participants in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) Carotid MRI study

Failure to replicate an association of SNPs in the oxidized LDL receptor gene (OLR1) with CAD

Abstract Background The lectin-like oxidized LDL receptor LOX-1 (encoded by OLR1) is believed to play a key role in atherogenesis and some reports suggest an association of OLR1 polymorphisms with myocardial infarction (MI). We tested whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in OLR1 are associated with clinically significant CAD in the Atherosclerotic Disease, VAscular FuNction, & Geneti C Epidemiology (ADVANCE) study. Methods ADVANCE is a population-based case-control study of subjects receiving care within Kaiser Permanente of Northern California including a subset of participants of the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) study. We first resequenced the promoter, exonic, and splice site regions of OLR1 and then genotyped four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), including a non-synonymous SNP (rs11053646, Lys167Asn) as well as an intronic SNP (rs3736232) previously associated with CAD. Results In 1,809 cases with clinical CAD and 1,734 controls, the minor allele of the coding SNP was nominally associated with a lower odds ratio (OR) of CAD across all ethnic groups studied (minimally adjusted OR 0.8, P = 0.007; fully adjusted OR 0.8, P = 0.01). The intronic SNP was nominally associated with an increased risk of CAD (minimally adjusted OR 1.12, p = 0.03; fully adjusted OR 1.13, P = 0.03). However, these associations were not replicated in over 13,200 individuals (including 1,470 cases) in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. Conclusion Our results do not support the presence of an association between selected common SNPs in OLR1 and the risk of clinical CAD.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/112726/1/12881_2008_Article_317.pd

Multi-Ethnic Analysis of Lipid-Associated Loci: The NHLBI CARe Project

Background: Whereas it is well established that plasma lipid levels have substantial heritability within populations, it remains unclear how many of the genetic determinants reported in previous studies (largely performed in European American cohorts) are relevant in different ethnicities. Methodology/Principal Findings: We tested a set of $\sim$50,000 polymorphisms from $\sim$2,000 candidate genes and genetic loci from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for association with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides (TG) in 25,000 European Americans and 9,000 African Americans in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe). We replicated associations for a number of genes in one or both ethnicities and identified a novel lipid-associated variant in a locus harboring ICAM1. We compared the architecture of genetic loci associated with lipids in both African Americans and European Americans and found that the same genes were relevant across ethnic groups but the specific associated variants at each gene often differed. Conclusions/Significance: We identify or provide further evidence for a number of genetic determinants of plasma lipid levels through population association studies. In many loci the determinants appear to differ substantially between African Americans and European Americans

Variation in the checkpoint kinase 2 gene is associated with type 2 diabetes in multiple populations

Identification and characterization of the genetic variants underlying type 2 diabetes susceptibility can provide important understanding of the etiology and pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes. We previously identified strong evidence of linkage for type 2 diabetes on chromosome 22 among 3,383 Hypertension Genetic Epidemiology Network (HyperGEN) participants from 1,124 families. The checkpoint 2 (CHEK2) gene, an important mediator of cellular responses to DNA damage, is located 0.22 Mb from this linkage peak. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that the CHEK2 gene contains one or more polymorphic variants that are associated with type 2 diabetes in HyperGEN individuals. In addition, we replicated our findings in two other Family Blood Pressure Program (FBPP) populations and in the population-based Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study. We genotyped 1,584 African-American and 1,531 white HyperGEN participants, 1,843 African-American and 1,569 white GENOA participants, 871 African-American and 1,009 white GenNet participants, and 4,266 African-American and 11,478 white ARIC participants for four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in CHEK2. Using additive models, we evaluated the association of CHEK2 SNPs with type 2 diabetes in participants within each study population stratified by race, and in a meta-analysis, adjusting for age, age2, sex, sex-by-age interaction, study center, and relatedness. One CHEK2 variant, rs4035540, was associated with an increased risk of type 2 diabetes in HyperGEN participants, two replication samples, and in the meta-analysis. These results may suggest a new pathway in the pathogenesis of type 2 diabetes that involves pancreatic beta-cell damage and apoptosis

Gene-Centric Meta-Analysis of Lipid Traits in African, East Asian and Hispanic Populations

Meta-analyses of European populations has successfully identified genetic variants in over 100 loci associated with lipid levels, but our knowledge in other ethnicities remains limited. To address this, we performed dense genotyping of ∼2,000 candidate genes in 7,657 African Americans, 1,315 Hispanics and 841 East Asians, using the IBC array, a custom ∼50,000 SNP genotyping array. Meta-analyses confirmed 16 lipid loci previously established in European populations at genome-wide significance level, and found multiple independent association signals within these lipid loci. Initial discovery and in silico follow-up in 7,000 additional African American samples, confirmed two novel loci: rs5030359 within ICAM1 is associated with total cholesterol (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) $(p = 8.8×10^{−7} and p = 1.5×10^{−6}$ respectively) and a nonsense mutation rs3211938 within CD36 is associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) levels $(p = 13.5×10^{−12})$. The rs3211938-G allele, which is nearly absent in European and Asian populations, has been previously found to be associated with CD36 deficiency and shows a signature of selection in Africans and African Americans. Finally, we have evaluated the effect of SNPs established in European populations on lipid levels in multi-ethnic populations and show that most known lipid association signals span across ethnicities. However, differences between populations, especially differences in allele frequency, can be leveraged to identify novel signals, as shown by the discovery of ICAM1 and CD36 in the current report

RANTES/CCL5 and risk for coronary events: Results from the MONICA/KORA Augsburg case-cohort, Athero-express and CARDIoGRAM studies

Background: The chemokine RANTES (regulated on activation, normal T-cell expressed and secreted)/CCL5 is involved in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease in mice, whereas less is known in humans. We hypothesised that its relevance for atherosclerosis should be reflected by associations between CCL5 gene variants, RANTES serum concentrations and protein levels in atherosclerotic plaques and risk for coronary events. Methods and Findings: We conducted a case-cohort study within the population-based MONICA/KORA Augsburg studies. Baseline RANTES serum levels were measured in 363 individuals with incident coronary events and 1,908 non-cases (mean follow-up: 10.2±

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms