@article {842, title = {Common promoter polymorphisms of inflammation and thrombosis genes and longevity in older adults: the cardiovascular health study.}, journal = {Atherosclerosis}, volume = {181}, year = {2005}, month = {2005 Jul}, pages = {175-83}, abstract = {

Inflammatory response genes may influence life span or quality at advanced ages. Using data from the population-based cardiovascular health study (CHS) cohort, we examined the associations between promoter polymorphisms of several inflammation and thrombosis genes with longevity. We ascertained genotypes for interleukin (IL)-6 -174 G/C, beta-fibrinogen -455 G/A, plasminogen activator inhibitor (PAI)-1 -675 4G/5G, and thrombin-activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor (TAFI) -438 G/A in 2224 men and women > or = 65 years old at baseline. During 10 years of follow-up, men with the TAFI -438 A/A genotype had decreased mortality due to all causes, and lived, on average, 0.9 more years of life, or 1.1 more years of healthy life, than men with the -438 G allele. The effects of TAFI -438 G/A in women were smaller and not statistically significant. PAI-1 4G/4G genotype appeared to be associated with lower non-cardiovascular mortality in men, but with greater cardiovascular mortality in women. In exploratory analyses, we observed a possible interaction among anti-inflammatory drugs, interleukin-6 -174 C/C genotype, and longevity. These findings suggest that modulators of fibrinolytic activity may have a generalized influence on aging, and merit further investigation in studies of genetic determinants of human longevity.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aging, Carboxypeptidase B2, Cause of Death, Cohort Studies, Female, Genotype, Health Status, Humans, Inflammation, Longevity, Male, Middle Aged, Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1, Polymorphism, Genetic, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Thrombosis}, issn = {0021-9150}, doi = {10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2005.01.028}, author = {Reiner, Alexander P and Diehr, Paula and Browner, Warren S and Humphries, Stephen E and Jenny, Nancy S and Cushman, Mary and Tracy, Russell P and Walston, Jeremy and Lumley, Thomas and Newman, Anne B and Kuller, Lewis H and Psaty, Bruce M} } @article {817, title = {Population structure, admixture, and aging-related phenotypes in African American adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {76}, year = {2005}, month = {2005 Mar}, pages = {463-77}, abstract = {

U.S. populations are genetically admixed, but surprisingly little empirical data exists documenting the impact of such heterogeneity on type I and type II error in genetic-association studies of unrelated individuals. By applying several complementary analytical techniques, we characterize genetic background heterogeneity among 810 self-identified African American subjects sampled as part of a multisite cohort study of cardiovascular disease in older adults. On the basis of the typing of 24 ancestry-informative biallelic single-nucleotide-polymorphism markers, there was evidence of substantial population substructure and admixture. We used an allele-sharing-based clustering algorithm to infer evidence for four genetically distinct subpopulations. Using multivariable regression models, we demonstrate the complex interplay of genetic and socioeconomic factors on quantitative phenotypes related to cardiovascular disease and aging. Blood glucose level correlated with individual African ancestry, whereas body mass index was associated more strongly with genetic similarity. Blood pressure, HDL cholesterol level, C-reactive protein level, and carotid wall thickness were not associated with genetic background. Blood pressure and HDL cholesterol level varied by geographic site, whereas C-reactive protein level differed by occupation. Both ancestry and genetic similarity predicted the number and quality of years lived during follow-up, but socioeconomic factors largely accounted for these associations. When the 24 genetic markers were tested individually, there were an excess number of marker-trait associations, most of which were attenuated by adjustment for genetic ancestry. We conclude that the genetic demography underlying older individuals who self identify as African American is complex, and that controlling for both genetic admixture and socioeconomic characteristics will be required in assessing genetic associations with chronic-disease-related traits in African Americans. Complementary methods that identify discrete subgroups on the basis of genetic similarity may help to further characterize the complex biodemographic structure of human populations.

}, keywords = {African Americans, Aged, Aging, Algorithms, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cohort Studies, Female, Genetics, Population, Genotype, Humans, Male, Models, Genetic, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Quantitative Trait Loci, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic Factors}, issn = {0002-9297}, doi = {10.1086/428654}, author = {Reiner, Alexander P and Ziv, Elad and Lind, Denise L and Nievergelt, Caroline M and Schork, Nicholas J and Cummings, Steven R and Phong, Angie and Burchard, Esteban Gonz{\'a}lez and Harris, Tamara B and Psaty, Bruce M and Kwok, Pui-Yan} } @article {932, title = {Association of polymorphisms in the CRP gene with circulating C-reactive protein levels and cardiovascular events.}, journal = {JAMA}, volume = {296}, year = {2006}, month = {2006 Dec 13}, pages = {2703-11}, abstract = {

CONTEXT: C-reactive protein (CRP) is an inflammation protein that may play a role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD).

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether polymorphisms in the CRP gene are associated with plasma CRP, carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), and CVD events.

DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: In the prospective, population-based Cardiovascular Health Study, 4 tag single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (1919A/T, 2667G/C, 3872G/A, 5237A/G) were genotyped in 3941 white (European American) participants and 5 tag SNPs (addition of 790A/T) were genotyped in 700 black (African American) participants, aged 65 years or older, all of whom were without myocardial infarction (MI) or stroke before study entry. Median follow-up was 13 years (1989-2003).

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Baseline CIMT; occurrence of MI, stroke, and CVD mortality during follow-up.

RESULTS: In white participants, 461 incident MIs, 491 incident strokes, and 490 CVD-related deaths occurred; in black participants, 67 incident MIs, 78 incident strokes, and 75 CVD-related deaths occurred. The 1919T and 790T alleles were associated with higher CRP levels in white and black participants, respectively. The 3872A allele was associated with lower CRP levels in both populations, and the 2667C allele was associated with lower CRP levels in white participants only. There was no association between CIMT and any CRP gene polymorphism in either population. In white participants, the 1919T allele was associated with increased risk of stroke for TT vs AA (hazard ratio [HR], 1.40; 95\% confidence interval [CI], 1.06-1.87) and for CVD mortality (HR, 1.40; 95\% CI, 1.10-1.90). In black participants, homozygosity for the 790T allele was associated with a 4-fold increased risk of MI compared with homozygosity for the 790A allele (95\% CI, 1.58-10.53). The minor alleles of the 2 SNPs associated with lower plasma CRP concentration in white participants (2667C and 3872A) were associated with decreased risk of CVD mortality.

CONCLUSIONS: Genetic variation in the CRP gene is associated with plasma CRP levels and CVD risk in older adults.

}, keywords = {African Continental Ancestry Group, Aged, C-Reactive Protein, Cardiovascular Diseases, Carotid Arteries, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Genotype, Humans, Male, Myocardial Infarction, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Proportional Hazards Models, Risk, Stroke, Tunica Intima}, issn = {1538-3598}, doi = {10.1001/jama.296.22.2703}, author = {Lange, Leslie A and Carlson, Christopher S and Hindorff, Lucia A and Lange, Ethan M and Walston, Jeremy and Durda, J Peter and Cushman, Mary and Bis, Joshua C and Zeng, Donglin and Lin, Danyu and Kuller, Lewis H and Nickerson, Deborah A and Psaty, Bruce M and Tracy, Russell P and Reiner, Alexander P} } @article {985, title = {USF1 gene variants, cardiovascular risk, and mortality in European Americans: analysis of two US cohort studies.}, journal = {Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol}, volume = {27}, year = {2007}, month = {2007 Dec}, pages = {2736-42}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: A common haplotype of the upstream transcription factor 1 gene (USF1) has been associated with decreased susceptibility to familial combined hyperlipidemia (FCHL) and, paradoxically, with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and all-cause mortality.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We assessed associations between USF1 tagSNPs, CVD risk factors, and aging-related phenotypes using data from 2 large population-based cohorts, Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults (CARDIA) and the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), comprising younger and older adults, respectively. In CARDIA, each additional copy of the FCHL low-risk allele was associated with 2.4 mg/dL lower levels of LDL cholesterol (P=0.01) and decreased risk of subclinical atherosclerosis as assessed by coronary artery calcium (odds ratio 0.79; 95\%CI 0.63 to 0.98). Whereas there was little association between USF1 genotype and metabolic or CVD traits in older adults from CHS, the USF1 low-risk dyslipidemia allele was associated with higher plasma C-reactive protein and interleukin (IL)-6 levels and with increased risk of mortality, particularly attributable to noncardiovascular causes.

CONCLUSIONS: There appears to be a complex and possibly age-dependent relationship between USF1 genotype, atherosclerosis phenotypes, and CVD risk. USF1 may influence mortality through pathways distinct from atherosclerosis. Alternatively, linkage disequilibrium with neighboring polymorphisms in other genes such as F11R may be responsible for the observed USF1 genotype-phenotype associations in older adults.

}, keywords = {Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Aging, Blood Glucose, C-Reactive Protein, Calcium, Cardiovascular Diseases, Carotid Artery, Common, Cohort Studies, Coronary Artery Disease, Coronary Vessels, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Humans, Hyperlipidemia, Familial Combined, Insulin, Interleukin-6, Linkage Disequilibrium, Lipids, Male, Odds Ratio, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Prospective Studies, Risk Assessment, Risk Factors, Time Factors, United States, Upstream Stimulatory Factors}, issn = {1524-4636}, doi = {10.1161/ATVBAHA.107.154559}, author = {Reiner, Alexander P and Carlson, Christopher S and Jenny, Nancy S and Durda, J Peter and Siscovick, David S and Nickerson, Deborah A and Tracy, Russell P} } @article {1027, title = {Biomarkers of Inflammation and MRI-Defined Small Vessel Disease of the Brain: The Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Stroke}, volume = {39}, year = {2008}, month = {2008 Jul}, pages = {1952-9}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: To clarify the role of inflammation in the pathogenesis of small vessel disease of the brain, we investigated the association between common variation in the C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin (IL)-6 genes, plasma CRP and IL6 levels, and presence of MRI-defined white matter lesions (WML) and brain infarcts (BI) in elderly participants of the Cardiovascular Health Study.

METHODS: Tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CRP and IL6 genes were selected from the SeattleSNPs database. In cross-sectional analyses, logistic regression models adjusting for known cardiovascular disease risk factors were constructed to assess the associations of plasma CRP and IL6 levels and common CRP and IL6 gene haplotypes with presence of WML or BI in Blacks (n=532) and Whites (n=2905).

RESULTS: Plasma IL6 and CRP levels were associated with presence of WML and BI in both races. In Whites, common haplotypes of the IL6 gene were significantly associated with WML and BI. The common haplotype tagged by the -174G/C promoter polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of WML (OR=1.14; 95\% CI: [1.02; 1.28]). The common haplotype tagged by the -572G/C promoter polymorphism was associated with an increased risk of BI (OR=1.57; 95\% CI: [1.15; 2.14]). Significant associations were lacking for WML or BI with IL6 gene variation in Blacks, or with CRP gene variation in either race.

CONCLUSIONS: This study provides evidence of a genetic basis underlying the relationship between plasma biomarkers of inflammation and small vessel disease of the brain. Further studies to elucidate the specific role of IL6 in disease pathogenesis are warranted.

}, keywords = {African Continental Ancestry Group, Aged, Biomarkers, Brain Infarction, C-Reactive Protein, Cohort Studies, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Haplotypes, Humans, Inflammation, Interleukin-6, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide}, issn = {1524-4628}, doi = {10.1161/STROKEAHA.107.508135}, author = {Fornage, Myriam and Chiang, Y Aron and O{\textquoteright}Meara, Ellen S and Psaty, Bruce M and Reiner, Alexander P and Siscovick, David S and Tracy, Russell P and Longstreth, W T} } @article {986, title = {Common variants in the CRP gene in relation to longevity and cause-specific mortality in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Atherosclerosis}, volume = {197}, year = {2008}, month = {2008 Apr}, pages = {922-30}, abstract = {

Common polymorphisms in the CRP gene are associated with plasma CRP levels in population-based studies, but associations with age-related events are uncertain. A previous study of CRP haplotypes in older adults was broadened to include longevity and cause-specific mortality (all-cause, noncardiovascular (non-CV), and cardiovascular (CV)). Common haplotypes were inferred from four tagSNPs in 4512 whites and five tagSNPs in 812 blacks from the Cardiovascular Health Study, a longitudinal cohort of adults over age 65. Exploratory analyses addressed early versus late mortality. CRP haplotypes were not associated with all-cause mortality or longevity overall in either population, but associations with all-cause mortality differed during early and late periods. In blacks, the haplotype tagged by 3872A (rs1205) was associated with increased risk of non-CV mortality, relative to other haplotypes (adjusted hazard ratio for each additional copy: 1.42, 95\% CI: 1.07, 1.87). Relative to other haplotypes, this haplotype was associated with decreased risk of early but not decreased risk of late CV mortality in blacks; among whites, a haplotype tagged by 2667C (rs1800947) gave similar but nonsignificant findings. If confirmed, CRP genetic variants may be weakly associated with CV and non-CV mortality in older adults, particularly in self-identified blacks.

}, keywords = {African Americans, Aged, C-Reactive Protein, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cause of Death, Cohort Studies, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Haplotypes, Humans, Linear Models, Longevity, Male, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Proportional Hazards Models, United States}, issn = {1879-1484}, doi = {10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2007.08.012}, author = {Hindorff, Lucia A and Rice, Kenneth M and Lange, Leslie A and Diehr, Paula and Halder, Indrani and Walston, Jeremy and Kwok, Pui and Ziv, Elad and Nievergelt, Caroline and Cummings, Steven R and Newman, Anne B and Tracy, Russell P and Psaty, Bruce M and Reiner, Alexander P} } @article {1028, title = {Polymorphisms of the HNF1A gene encoding hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 alpha are associated with C-reactive protein.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {82}, year = {2008}, month = {2008 May}, pages = {1193-201}, abstract = {

Data from the Pharmacogenomics and Risk of Cardiovascular Disease (PARC) study and the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) provide independent and confirmatory evidence for association between common polymorphisms of the HNF1A gene encoding hepatocyte nuclear factor-1 alpha and plasma C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration. Analyses with the use of imputation-based methods to combine genotype data from both studies and to test untyped SNPs from the HapMap database identified several SNPs within a 5 kb region of HNF1A intron 1 with the strongest evidence of association with CRP phenotype.

}, keywords = {Aged, Bayes Theorem, C-Reactive Protein, Female, Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1-alpha, Humans, Hydroxymethylglutaryl-CoA Reductase Inhibitors, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Pravastatin, Simvastatin}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2008.03.017}, author = {Reiner, Alexander P and Barber, Mathew J and Guan, Yongtao and Ridker, Paul M and Lange, Leslie A and Chasman, Daniel I and Walston, Jeremy D and Cooper, Gregory M and Jenny, Nancy S and Rieder, Mark J and Durda, J Peter and Smith, Joshua D and Novembre, John and Tracy, Russell P and Rotter, Jerome I and Stephens, Matthew and Nickerson, Deborah A and Krauss, Ronald M} } @article {1104, title = {Association of common genetic variation in the insulin/IGF1 signaling pathway with human longevity.}, journal = {Aging Cell}, volume = {8}, year = {2009}, month = {2009 Aug}, pages = {460-72}, abstract = {

The insulin/IGF1 signaling pathways affect lifespan in several model organisms, including worms, flies and mice. To investigate whether common genetic variation in this pathway influences lifespan in humans, we genotyped 291 common variants in 30 genes encoding proteins in the insulin/IGF1 signaling pathway in a cohort of elderly Caucasian women selected from the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF). The cohort included 293 long-lived cases (lifespan > or = 92 years (y), mean +/- standard deviation (SD) = 95.3 +/- 2.2y) and 603 average-lifespan controls (lifespan < or = 79y, mean = 75.7 +/- 2.6y). Variants were selected for genotyping using a haplotype-tagging approach. We found a modest excess of variants nominally associated with longevity. Nominally significant variants were then replicated in two additional Caucasian cohorts including both males and females: the Cardiovascular Health Study and Ashkenazi Jewish Centenarians. An intronic single nucleotide polymorphism in AKT1, rs3803304, was significantly associated with lifespan in a meta-analysis across the three cohorts (OR = 0.78 95\%CI = 0.68-0.89, adjusted P = 0.043); two intronic single nucleotide polymorphisms in FOXO3A demonstrated a significant lifespan association among women only (rs1935949, OR = 1.35, 95\%CI = 1.15-1.57, adjusted P = 0.0093). These results demonstrate that common variants in several genes in the insulin/IGF1 pathway are associated with human lifespan.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Forkhead Box Protein O3, Forkhead Transcription Factors, Genome, Human, Genotype, Humans, Insulin, Insulin-Like Growth Factor I, Longevity, Male, Osteoporosis, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt, Signal Transduction}, issn = {1474-9726}, doi = {10.1111/j.1474-9726.2009.00493.x}, author = {Pawlikowska, Ludmila and Hu, Donglei and Huntsman, Scott and Sung, Andrew and Chu, Catherine and Chen, Justin and Joyner, Alexander H and Schork, Nicholas J and Hsueh, Wen-Chi and Reiner, Alexander P and Psaty, Bruce M and Atzmon, Gil and Barzilai, Nir and Cummings, Steven R and Browner, Warren S and Kwok, Pui-Yan and Ziv, Elad} } @article {1126, title = {Association of genetic variation in serum amyloid-A with cardiovascular disease and interactions with IL6, IL1RN, IL1beta and TNF genes in the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {J Atheroscler Thromb}, volume = {16}, year = {2009}, month = {2009 Aug}, pages = {419-30}, abstract = {

AIM: Since inflammation is an important contributor to atherosclerosis, gene variants mediating inflammation are of interest. We investigated gene variants in acute phase serum amyloid-A (SAA), a sensitive indicator of inflammatory activity, and their associations with cardiovascular disease (CVD) and HDL cholesterol. Interaction of the SAA genes with genetic variants of their regulators, IL-1, IL-6 and TNF-alpha in influencing CVD was also explored.

METHODS: SNPs characterizing common variation in the SAA1 and SAA2 genes were genotyped in European-(EA) and African-American (AA) participants (n=3969 and n=719) of the Cardiovascular Health Study. Using linear and Cox proportional hazards regression, we assessed associations of SNPs with baseline carotid artery intima-media thickness (cIMT) and risk of incident myocardial infarction, ischemic stroke, total CVD events or mortality during 14 years of follow-up.

RESULTS: No associations between SAA SNPs and outcomes were observed in EA, with the exception of total CVD events; each rs4638289 minor allele was associated with an increased risk in obese individuals, HR=1.2 (95\%CI: 0.981.4; p=0.086) and decreased risk among non-obese, HR=0.9 (95\%CI: 0.80.99; p=0.026). In AA, we observed modest associations between SAA SNPs and cIMT, potentially modified by HDL. SAA SNPs were also associated with lower HDL in EA and AA. Suggestive gene-gene interaction findings for cIMT in AA and CVD mortality in EA were not significant in subsequent model selection tests.

CONCLUSION: Associations of SAA SNPs with cIMT, HDL and total CVD events were identified, unadjusted for multiple testing. These findings should be regarded as hypothesis-generating until confirmed by other studies.

}, keywords = {Aged, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cholesterol, HDL, Cytokines, Female, Gene Regulatory Networks, Humans, Inflammation Mediators, Interleukin 1 Receptor Antagonist Protein, Interleukin-1beta, Interleukin-6, Male, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Proportional Hazards Models, Serum Amyloid A Protein, Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha, Tunica Intima}, issn = {1880-3873}, author = {Carty, Cara L and Heagerty, Patrick and Heckbert, Susan R and Enquobahrie, Daniel A and Jarvik, Gail P and Davis, Scott and Tracy, Russell P and Reiner, Alexander P} } @article {1154, title = {Common coding variants of the HNF1A gene are associated with multiple cardiovascular risk phenotypes in community-based samples of younger and older European-American adults: the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study and The Cardiovascula}, journal = {Circ Cardiovasc Genet}, volume = {2}, year = {2009}, month = {2009 Jun}, pages = {244-54}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: The transcription factor hepatocyte nuclear factor (HNF)-1 alpha regulates the activity of a number of genes involved in innate immunity, blood coagulation, lipid and glucose transport and metabolism, and cellular detoxification. Common polymorphisms of the HNF-1 alpha gene (HNF1A) were recently associated with plasma C-reactive protein and gamma-glutamyl transferase concentration in middle-aged to older European Americans (EA).

METHODS AND RESULTS: We assessed whether common variants of HNF1A are associated with C-reactive protein, gamma-glutamyl transferase, and other atherosclerotic and metabolic risk factors, in the large, population-based Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults Study of healthy young EA (n=2154) and African American (AA; n=2083) adults. The minor alleles of Ile27Leu (rs1169288) and Ser486Asn (rs2464196) were associated with 0.10 to 0.15 standard deviation units lower C-reactive protein and gamma-glutamyl transferase levels in EA. The same HNF1A coding variants were associated with higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apolipoprotein B, creatinine, and fibrinogen in EA. We replicated the associations between HNF1A coding variants and C-reactive protein, fibrinogen, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, and renal function in a second population-based sample of EA adults 65 years and older from the Cardiovascular Health Study. The HNF1A Ser486Asn and/or Ile27Leu variants were also associated with increased risk of subclinical coronary atherosclerosis in Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults and with incident coronary heart disease in Cardiovascular Health Study. The Ile27Leu and Ser486Asn variants were 3-fold less common in AA than in EA. There was little evidence of association between HNF1A genotype and atherosclerosis-related phenotypes in AA.

CONCLUSIONS: Common polymorphisms of HNF1A seem to influence multiple phenotypes related to cardiovascular risk in the general population of younger and older EA adults.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, African Americans, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, C-Reactive Protein, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cholesterol, LDL, Cohort Studies, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Fibrinogen, gamma-Glutamyltransferase, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genotype, Hepatocyte Nuclear Factor 1-alpha, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Risk Factors}, issn = {1942-3268}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.108.839506}, author = {Reiner, Alexander P and Gross, Myron D and Carlson, Christopher S and Bielinski, Suzette J and Lange, Leslie A and Fornage, Myriam and Jenny, Nancy S and Walston, Jeremy and Tracy, Russell P and Williams, O Dale and Jacobs, David R and Nickerson, Deborah A} } @article {1084, title = {C-reactive protein, interleukin-6, and prostate cancer risk in men aged 65 years and older.}, journal = {Cancer Causes Control}, volume = {20}, year = {2009}, month = {2009 Sep}, pages = {1193-203}, abstract = {

Inflammation is believed to play a role in prostate cancer (PCa) etiology, but it is unclear whether inflammatory markers C-reactive protein (CRP) and interleukin-6 (IL-6) associate with PCa risk in older men. Using Cox regression, we assessed the relationship between baseline concentrations of CRP and IL-6 and the subsequent PCa risk in the Cardiovascular Health Study, a population-based cohort study of mostly European American men of ages >64 years (n = 2,234; mean follow-up = 8.7 years; 215 incident PCa cases). We also tested associations between CRP and IL-6 tagSNPs and PCa risk, focusing on SNPs that are known to associate with circulating CRP and/or IL-6. Neither CRP nor IL-6 blood concentrations was associated with PCa risk. The C allele of IL-6 SNP rs1800795 (-174), a known functional variant, was associated with increased risk in a dominant model (HR = 1.44; 95\% CI = 1.03-2.01; p = 0.03), but was not statistically significant after accounting for multiple tests (permutation p = 0.21). Our results suggest that circulating CRP and IL-6 do not influence PCa risk. SNPs at the CRP locus are not associated with PCa risk in this cohort, while the association between rs1800795 and PCa risk warrants further investigation.

}, keywords = {African Americans, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Biomarkers, C-Reactive Protein, European Continental Ancestry Group, Humans, Inflammation, Interleukin-6, Male, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Prospective Studies, Prostatic Neoplasms, Risk Factors}, issn = {1573-7225}, doi = {10.1007/s10552-009-9320-4}, author = {Pierce, Brandon L and Biggs, Mary L and DeCambre, Marvalyn and Reiner, Alexander P and Li, Christopher and Fitzpatrick, Annette and Carlson, Christopher S and Stanford, Janet L and Austin, Melissa A} } @article {1158, title = {Interaction between fibrinogen and IL-6 genetic variants and associations with cardiovascular disease risk in the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Ann Hum Genet}, volume = {74}, year = {2010}, month = {2010 Jan}, pages = {1-10}, abstract = {

The inflammatory cytokine interleukin-6 (IL-6) is a main regulator of fibrinogen synthesis, though its interaction with fibrinogen genes (FGA, FGB, FGG) and subsequent impact on cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk is not well-studied. We investigated joint associations of fibrinogen and IL6 tagSNPs with fibrinogen concentrations, carotid intima-media thickness, and myocardial infarction or ischemic stroke in 3900 European-American Cardiovascular Health Study participants. To identify combinations of genetic main effects and interactions associated with outcomes, we used logic regression. We also evaluated whether the relationship between fibrinogen SNPs and fibrinogen level varied by IL-6 level using linear regression models with multiplicative interaction terms. Combinations of fibrinogen and IL6 SNPs were significantly associated with fibrinogen level (p < 0.005), but not with other outcomes. Fibrinogen levels were higher in individuals having FGB1437 (rs1800790) and lacking FGA6534 (rs6050) minor alleles; these SNPs interacted with IL6 rs1800796 to influence fibrinogen level. Marginally significant (p= 0.03) interactions between IL-6 level and FGA and FGG promoter SNPs associated with fibrinogen levels were detected. We identified potential gene-gene interactions influencing fibrinogen levels. Although IL-6 responsive binding sites are present in fibrinogen gene promoter regions, we did not find strong evidence of interaction between fibrinogen SNPs and IL6 SNPs or levels influencing CVD.

}, keywords = {Aged, Cardiovascular Diseases, Carotid Arteries, Female, Fibrinogen, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genetic Variation, Humans, Interleukin-6, Male, Models, Biological, Myocardial Infarction, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Risk, Stroke}, issn = {1469-1809}, doi = {10.1111/j.1469-1809.2009.00551.x}, author = {Carty, Cara L and Heagerty, Patrick and Heckbert, Susan R and Jarvik, Gail P and Lange, Leslie A and Cushman, Mary and Tracy, Russell P and Reiner, Alexander P} } @article {1562, title = {Association of genomic loci from a cardiovascular gene SNP array with fibrinogen levels in European Americans and African-Americans from six cohort studies: the Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe).}, journal = {Blood}, volume = {117}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 Jan 06}, pages = {268-75}, abstract = {

Several common genomic loci, involving various immunity- and metabolism-related genes, have been associated with plasma fibrinogen in European Americans (EAs). The genetic determinants of fibrinogen in African Americans (AAs) are poorly characterized. Using a vascular gene-centric array in 23,634 EA and 6657 AA participants from 6 studies comprising the Candidate Gene Association Resource project, we examined the association of 47,539 common and lower frequency variants with fibrinogen concentration. We identified a rare Pro265Leu variant in FGB (rs6054) associated with lower fibrinogen. Common fibrinogen gene single nucleotide polymorphisms (FGB rs1800787 and FGG rs2066861) significantly associated with fibrinogen in EAs were prevalent in AAs and showed consistent associations. Several fibrinogen locus single nucleotide polymorphism associated with lower fibrinogen were exclusive to AAs; these include a newly reported association with FGA rs10050257. For IL6R, IL1RN, and NLRP3 inflammatory gene loci, associations with fibrinogen were concordant between EAs and AAs, but not at other loci (CPS1, PCCB, and SCL22A5-IRF1). The association of FGG rs2066861 with fibrinogen differed according to assay type used to measure fibrinogen. Further characterization of common and lower-frequency genetic variants that contribute to interpopulation differences in fibrinogen phenotype may help refine our understanding of the contribution of hemostasis and inflammation to atherothrombotic risk.

}, keywords = {Adult, African Americans, Aged, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cohort Studies, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Fibrinogen, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Haplotypes, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Risk Factors}, issn = {1528-0020}, doi = {10.1182/blood-2010-06-289546}, author = {Wassel, Christina L and Lange, Leslie A and Keating, Brendan J and Taylor, Kira C and Johnson, Andrew D and Palmer, Cameron and Ho, Lindsey A and Smith, Nicholas L and Lange, Ethan M and Li, Yun and Yang, Qiong and Delaney, Joseph A and Tang, Weihong and Tofler, Geoffrey and Redline, Susan and Taylor, Herman A and Wilson, James G and Tracy, Russell P and Jacobs, David R and Folsom, Aaron R and Green, David and O{\textquoteright}Donnell, Christopher J and Reiner, Alexander P} } @article {1568, title = {A gene-centric association scan for Coagulation Factor VII levels in European and African Americans: the Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) Consortium.}, journal = {Hum Mol Genet}, volume = {20}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 Sep 01}, pages = {3525-34}, abstract = {

Polymorphisms in several distinct genomic regions, including the F7 gene, were recently associated with factor VII (FVII) levels in European Americans (EAs). The genetic determinants of FVII in African Americans (AAs) are unknown. We used a 50,000 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) gene-centric array having dense coverage of over 2,000 candidate genes for cardiovascular disease (CVD) pathways in a community-based sample of 16,324 EA and 3898 AA participants from the Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) consortium. Our aim was the discovery of new genomic loci and more detailed characterization of existing loci associated with FVII levels. In EAs, we identified three new loci associated with FVII, of which APOA5 on chromosome 11q23 and HNF4A on chromosome 20q12-13 were replicated in a sample of 4289 participants from the Whitehall II study. We confirmed four previously reported FVII-associated loci (GCKR, MS4A6A, F7 and PROCR) in CARe EA samples. In AAs, the F7 and PROCR regions were significantly associated with FVII. Several of the FVII-associated regions are known to be associated with lipids and other cardiovascular-related traits. At the F7 locus, there was evidence of at least five independently associated SNPs in EAs and three independent signals in AAs. Though the variance in FVII explained by the existing loci is substantial (20\% in EA and 10\% in AA), larger sample sizes and investigation of lower frequency variants may be required to identify additional FVII-associated loci in EAs and AAs and further clarify the relationship between FVII and other CVD risk factors.

}, keywords = {Adult, African Americans, Aged, Cardiovascular Diseases, European Continental Ancestry Group, Factor VII, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide}, issn = {1460-2083}, doi = {10.1093/hmg/ddr264}, author = {Taylor, Kira C and Lange, Leslie A and Zabaneh, Delilah and Lange, Ethan and Keating, Brendan J and Tang, Weihong and Smith, Nicholas L and Delaney, Joseph A and Kumari, Meena and Hingorani, Aroon and North, Kari E and Kivimaki, Mika and Tracy, Russell P and O{\textquoteright}Donnell, Christopher J and Folsom, Aaron R and Green, David and Humphries, Steve E and Reiner, Alexander P} } @article {1371, title = {Associations between incident ischemic stroke events and stroke and cardiovascular disease-related genome-wide association studies single nucleotide polymorphisms in the Population Architecture Using Genomics and Epidemiology study.}, journal = {Circ Cardiovasc Genet}, volume = {5}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Apr 01}, pages = {210-6}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified loci associated with ischemic stroke (IS) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) in European-descent individuals, but their replication in different populations has been largely unexplored.

METHODS AND RESULTS: Nine single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) selected from GWAS and meta-analyses of stroke, and 86 SNPs previously associated with myocardial infarction and CVD risk factors, including blood lipids (high density lipoprotein [HDL], low density lipoprotein [LDL], and triglycerides), type 2 diabetes, and body mass index (BMI), were investigated for associations with incident IS in European Americans (EA) N=26 276, African-Americans (AA) N=8970, and American Indians (AI) N=3570 from the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology Study. Ancestry-specific fixed effects meta-analysis with inverse variance weighting was used to combine study-specific log hazard ratios from Cox proportional hazards models. Two of 9 stroke SNPs (rs783396 and rs1804689) were significantly associated with [corrected] IS hazard in AA; none were significant in this large EA cohort. Of 73 CVD risk factor SNPs tested in EA, 2 (HDL and triglycerides SNPs) were associated with IS. In AA, SNPs associated with LDL, HDL, and BMI were significantly associated with IS (3 of 86 SNPs tested). Out of 58 SNPs tested in AI, 1 LDL SNP was significantly associated with IS.

CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses showing lack of replication in spite of reasonable power for many stroke SNPs and differing results by ancestry highlight the need to follow up on GWAS findings and conduct genetic association studies in diverse populations. We found modest IS associations with BMI and lipids SNPs, though these findings require confirmation.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cholesterol, HDL, Cholesterol, LDL, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Genetics, Population, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genomics, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Risk Factors, Stroke, Triglycerides}, issn = {1942-3268}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.111.962191}, author = {Carty, Cara L and B{\r u}zkov{\'a}, Petra and Fornage, Myriam and Franceschini, Nora and Cole, Shelley and Heiss, Gerardo and Hindorff, Lucia A and Howard, Barbara V and Mann, Sue and Martin, Lisa W and Zhang, Ying and Matise, Tara C and Prentice, Ross and Reiner, Alexander P and Kooperberg, Charles} } @article {5864, title = {Genetic determinants of the ankle-brachial index: a meta-analysis of a cardiovascular candidate gene 50K SNP panel in the candidate gene association resource (CARe) consortium.}, journal = {Atherosclerosis}, volume = {222}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 May}, pages = {138-47}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Candidate gene association studies for peripheral artery disease (PAD), including subclinical disease assessed with the ankle-brachial index (ABI), have been limited by the modest number of genes examined. We conducted a two stage meta-analysis of \~{}50,000 SNPs across \~{}2100 candidate genes to identify genetic variants for ABI.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We studied subjects of European ancestry from 8 studies (n=21,547, 55\% women, mean age 44-73 years) and African American ancestry from 5 studies (n=7267, 60\% women, mean age 41-73 years) involved in the candidate gene association resource (CARe) consortium. In each ethnic group, additive genetic models were used (with each additional copy of the minor allele corresponding to the given beta) to test each SNP for association with continuous ABI (excluding ABI>1.40) and PAD (defined as ABI<0.90) using linear or logistic regression with adjustment for known PAD risk factors and population stratification. We then conducted a fixed-effects inverse-variance weighted meta-analyses considering a p<2{\texttimes}10(-6) to denote statistical significance.

RESULTS: In the European ancestry discovery meta-analyses, rs2171209 in SYTL3 (β=-0.007, p=6.02{\texttimes}10(-7)) and rs290481 in TCF7L2 (β=-0.008, p=7.01{\texttimes}10(-7)) were significantly associated with ABI. None of the SNP associations for PAD were significant, though a SNP in CYP2B6 (p=4.99{\texttimes}10(-5)) was among the strongest associations. These 3 genes are linked to key PAD risk factors (lipoprotein(a), type 2 diabetes, and smoking behavior, respectively). We sought replication in 6 population-based and 3 clinical samples (n=15,440) for rs290481 and rs2171209. However, in the replication stage (rs2171209, p=0.75; rs290481, p=0.19) and in the combined discovery and replication analysis the SNP-ABI associations were no longer significant (rs2171209, p=1.14{\texttimes}10(-3); rs290481, p=8.88{\texttimes}10(-5)). In African Americans, none of the SNP associations for ABI or PAD achieved an experiment-wide level of significance.

CONCLUSIONS: Genetic determinants of ABI and PAD remain elusive. Follow-up of these preliminary findings may uncover important biology given the known gene-risk factor associations. New and more powerful approaches to PAD gene discovery are warranted.

}, keywords = {Adult, African Americans, Aged, Ankle Brachial Index, Aryl Hydrocarbon Hydroxylases, Cytochrome P-450 CYP2B6, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Oxidoreductases, N-Demethylating, Peripheral Arterial Disease, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Risk Factors, Transcription Factor 7-Like 2 Protein}, issn = {1879-1484}, doi = {10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2012.01.039}, author = {Wassel, Christina L and Lamina, Claudia and Nambi, Vijay and Coassin, Stefan and Mukamal, Kenneth J and Ganesh, Santhi K and Jacobs, David R and Franceschini, Nora and Papanicolaou, George J and Gibson, Quince and Yanek, Lisa R and van der Harst, Pim and Ferguson, Jane F and Crawford, Dana C and Waite, Lindsay L and Allison, Matthew A and Criqui, Michael H and McDermott, Mary M and Mehra, Reena and Cupples, L Adrienne and Hwang, Shih-Jen and Redline, Susan and Kaplan, Robert C and Heiss, Gerardo and Rotter, Jerome I and Boerwinkle, Eric and Taylor, Herman A and Eraso, Luis H and Haun, Margot and Li, Mingyao and Meisinger, Christa and O{\textquoteright}Connell, Jeffrey R and Shuldiner, Alan R and Tybj{\ae}rg-Hansen, Anne and Frikke-Schmidt, Ruth and Kollerits, Barbara and Rantner, Barbara and Dieplinger, Benjamin and Stadler, Marietta and Mueller, Thomas and Haltmayer, Meinhard and Klein-Weigel, Peter and Summerer, Monika and Wichmann, H-Erich and Asselbergs, Folkert W and Navis, Gerjan and Mateo Leach, Irene and Brown-Gentry, Kristin and Goodloe, Robert and Assimes, Themistocles L and Becker, Diane M and Cooke, John P and Absher, Devin M and Olin, Jeffrey W and Mitchell, Braxton D and Reilly, Muredach P and Mohler, Emile R and North, Kari E and Reiner, Alexander P and Kronenberg, Florian and Murabito, Joanne M} } @article {6179, title = {Impact of ancestry and common genetic variants on QT interval in African Americans.}, journal = {Circ Cardiovasc Genet}, volume = {5}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Dec}, pages = {647-55}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Ethnic differences in cardiac arrhythmia incidence have been reported, with a particularly high incidence of sudden cardiac death and low incidence of atrial fibrillation in individuals of African ancestry. We tested the hypotheses that African ancestry and common genetic variants are associated with prolonged duration of cardiac repolarization, a central pathophysiological determinant of arrhythmia, as measured by the electrocardiographic QT interval.

METHODS AND RESULTS: First, individual estimates of African and European ancestry were inferred from genome-wide single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data in 7 population-based cohorts of African Americans (n=12,097) and regressed on measured QT interval from ECGs. Second, imputation was performed for 2.8 million SNPs, and a genome-wide association study of QT interval was performed in 10 cohorts (n=13,105). There was no evidence of association between genetic ancestry and QT interval (P=0.94). Genome-wide significant associations (P<2.5 {\texttimes} 10(-8)) were identified with SNPs at 2 loci, upstream of the genes NOS1AP (rs12143842, P=2 {\texttimes} 10(-15)) and ATP1B1 (rs1320976, P=2 {\texttimes} 10(-10)). The most significant SNP in NOS1AP was the same as the strongest SNP previously associated with QT interval in individuals of European ancestry. Low probability values (P<10(-5)) were observed for SNPs at several other loci previously identified in genome-wide association studies in individuals of European ancestry, including KCNQ1, KCNH2, LITAF, and PLN.

CONCLUSIONS: We observed no difference in duration of cardiac repolarization with global genetic indices of African American ancestry. In addition, our genome-wide association study extends the association of polymorphisms at several loci associated with repolarization in individuals of European ancestry to include individuals of African ancestry.

}, keywords = {Adult, African Americans, Aged, Electrocardiography, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Genealogy and Heraldry, Genetic Variation, Genome, Human, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide}, issn = {1942-3268}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.112.962787}, author = {Smith, J Gustav and Avery, Christy L and Evans, Daniel S and Nalls, Michael A and Meng, Yan A and Smith, Erin N and Palmer, Cameron and Tanaka, Toshiko and Mehra, Reena and Butler, Anne M and Young, Taylor and Buxbaum, Sarah G and Kerr, Kathleen F and Berenson, Gerald S and Schnabel, Renate B and Li, Guo and Ellinor, Patrick T and Magnani, Jared W and Chen, Wei and Bis, Joshua C and Curb, J David and Hsueh, Wen-Chi and Rotter, Jerome I and Liu, Yongmei and Newman, Anne B and Limacher, Marian C and North, Kari E and Reiner, Alexander P and Quibrera, P Miguel and Schork, Nicholas J and Singleton, Andrew B and Psaty, Bruce M and Soliman, Elsayed Z and Solomon, Allen J and Srinivasan, Sathanur R and Alonso, Alvaro and Wallace, Robert and Redline, Susan and Zhang, Zhu-Ming and Post, Wendy S and Zonderman, Alan B and Taylor, Herman A and Murray, Sarah S and Ferrucci, Luigi and Arking, Dan E and Evans, Michele K and Fox, Ervin R and Sotoodehnia, Nona and Heckbert, Susan R and Whitsel, Eric A and Newton-Cheh, Christopher} } @article {6282, title = {Genome-wide and gene-centric analyses of circulating myeloperoxidase levels in the charge and care consortia.}, journal = {Hum Mol Genet}, volume = {22}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Aug 15}, pages = {3381-93}, abstract = {

Increased systemic levels of myeloperoxidase (MPO) are associated with the risk of coronary artery disease (CAD). To identify the genetic factors that are associated with circulating MPO levels, we carried out a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and a gene-centric analysis in subjects of European ancestry and African Americans (AAs). A locus on chromosome 1q31.1 containing the complement factor H (CFH) gene was strongly associated with serum MPO levels in 9305 subjects of European ancestry (lead SNP rs800292; P = 4.89 {\texttimes} 10(-41)) and in 1690 AA subjects (rs505102; P = 1.05 {\texttimes} 10(-8)). Gene-centric analyses in 8335 subjects of European ancestry additionally identified two rare MPO coding sequence variants that were associated with serum MPO levels (rs28730837, P = 5.21 {\texttimes} 10(-12); rs35897051, P = 3.32 {\texttimes} 10(-8)). A GWAS for plasma MPO levels in 9260 European ancestry subjects identified a chromosome 17q22 region near MPO that was significantly associated (lead SNP rs6503905; P = 2.94 {\texttimes} 10(-12)), but the CFH locus did not exhibit evidence of association with plasma MPO levels. Functional analyses revealed that rs800292 was associated with levels of complement proteins in serum. Variants at chromosome 17q22 also had pleiotropic cis effects on gene expression. In a case-control analysis of \~{}80 000 subjects from CARDIoGRAM, none of the identified single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were associated with CAD. These results suggest that distinct genetic factors regulate serum and plasma MPO levels, which may have relevance for various acute and chronic inflammatory disorders. The clinical implications for CAD and a better understanding of the functional basis for the association of CFH and MPO variants with circulating MPO levels require further study.

}, keywords = {Adult, African Americans, Aged, Case-Control Studies, Complement Factor H, Coronary Artery Disease, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Gene Expression Regulation, Enzymologic, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Variation, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genotype, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Peroxidase, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Young Adult}, issn = {1460-2083}, doi = {10.1093/hmg/ddt189}, author = {Reiner, Alexander P and Hartiala, Jaana and Zeller, Tanja and Bis, Joshua C and Dupuis, Jos{\'e}e and Fornage, Myriam and Baumert, Jens and Kleber, Marcus E and Wild, Philipp S and Baldus, Stephan and Bielinski, Suzette J and Fontes, Jo{\~a}o D and Illig, Thomas and Keating, Brendan J and Lange, Leslie A and Ojeda, Francisco and M{\"u}ller-Nurasyid, Martina and Munzel, Thomas F and Psaty, Bruce M and Rice, Kenneth and Rotter, Jerome I and Schnabel, Renate B and Tang, W H Wilson and Thorand, Barbara and Erdmann, Jeanette and Jacobs, David R and Wilson, James G and Koenig, Wolfgang and Tracy, Russell P and Blankenberg, Stefan and M{\"a}rz, Winfried and Gross, Myron D and Benjamin, Emelia J and Hazen, Stanley L and Allayee, Hooman} } @article {6590, title = {Association of low-frequency and rare coding-sequence variants with blood lipids and coronary heart disease in 56,000 whites and blacks.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {94}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Feb 06}, pages = {223-32}, abstract = {

Low-frequency coding DNA sequence variants in the proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 gene (PCSK9) lower plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C), protect against risk of coronary heart disease (CHD), and have prompted the development of a new class of therapeutics. It is uncertain whether the PCSK9 example represents a paradigm or an isolated exception. We used the "Exome Array" to genotype >200,000 low-frequency and rare coding sequence variants across the genome in 56,538 individuals (42,208 European ancestry [EA] and 14,330 African ancestry [AA]) and tested these variants for association with LDL-C, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C), and triglycerides. Although we did not identify new genes associated with LDL-C, we did identify four low-frequency (frequencies between 0.1\% and 2\%) variants (ANGPTL8 rs145464906 [c.361C>T; p.Gln121*], PAFAH1B2 rs186808413 [c.482C>T; p.Ser161Leu], COL18A1 rs114139997 [c.331G>A; p.Gly111Arg], and PCSK7 rs142953140 [c.1511G>A; p.Arg504His]) with large effects on HDL-C and/or triglycerides. None of these four variants was associated with risk for CHD, suggesting that examples of low-frequency coding variants with robust effects on both lipids and CHD will be limited.

}, keywords = {1-Alkyl-2-acetylglycerophosphocholine Esterase, Adult, African Continental Ancestry Group, Aged, Alleles, Animals, Cholesterol, HDL, Cholesterol, LDL, Cohort Studies, Coronary Disease, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Gene Frequency, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Code, Genetic Variation, Humans, Linear Models, Male, Mice, Mice, Inbred C57BL, Microtubule-Associated Proteins, Middle Aged, Phenotype, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Subtilisins, Triglycerides}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.01.009}, author = {Peloso, Gina M and Auer, Paul L and Bis, Joshua C and Voorman, Arend and Morrison, Alanna C and Stitziel, Nathan O and Brody, Jennifer A and Khetarpal, Sumeet A and Crosby, Jacy R and Fornage, Myriam and Isaacs, Aaron and Jakobsdottir, Johanna and Feitosa, Mary F and Davies, Gail and Huffman, Jennifer E and Manichaikul, Ani and Davis, Brian and Lohman, Kurt and Joon, Aron Y and Smith, Albert V and Grove, Megan L and Zanoni, Paolo and Redon, Valeska and Demissie, Serkalem and Lawson, Kim and Peters, Ulrike and Carlson, Christopher and Jackson, Rebecca D and Ryckman, Kelli K and Mackey, Rachel H and Robinson, Jennifer G and Siscovick, David S and Schreiner, Pamela J and Mychaleckyj, Josyf C and Pankow, James S and Hofman, Albert and Uitterlinden, Andr{\'e} G and Harris, Tamara B and Taylor, Kent D and Stafford, Jeanette M and Reynolds, Lindsay M and Marioni, Riccardo E and Dehghan, Abbas and Franco, Oscar H and Patel, Aniruddh P and Lu, Yingchang and Hindy, George and Gottesman, Omri and Bottinger, Erwin P and Melander, Olle and Orho-Melander, Marju and Loos, Ruth J F and Duga, Stefano and Merlini, Piera Angelica and Farrall, Martin and Goel, Anuj and Asselta, Rosanna and Girelli, Domenico and Martinelli, Nicola and Shah, Svati H and Kraus, William E and Li, Mingyao and Rader, Daniel J and Reilly, Muredach P and McPherson, Ruth and Watkins, Hugh and Ardissino, Diego and Zhang, Qunyuan and Wang, Judy and Tsai, Michael Y and Taylor, Herman A and Correa, Adolfo and Griswold, Michael E and Lange, Leslie A and Starr, John M and Rudan, Igor and Eiriksdottir, Gudny and Launer, Lenore J and Ordovas, Jose M and Levy, Daniel and Chen, Y-D Ida and Reiner, Alexander P and Hayward, Caroline and Polasek, Ozren and Deary, Ian J and Borecki, Ingrid B and Liu, Yongmei and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Wilson, James G and van Duijn, Cornelia M and Kooperberg, Charles and Rich, Stephen S and Psaty, Bruce M and Rotter, Jerome I and O{\textquoteright}Donnell, Christopher J and Rice, Kenneth and Boerwinkle, Eric and Kathiresan, Sekar and Cupples, L Adrienne} } @article {6570, title = {A common SCN5A variant is associated with PR interval and atrial fibrillation among African Americans.}, journal = {J Cardiovasc Electrophysiol}, volume = {25}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Nov}, pages = {1150-7}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: We examined the association of rs7626962 (S1103Y) or rs7629265, a variant in high linkage disequilibrium with S1103Y (r(2) = 0.87 - 1), with sudden cardiac death (SCD) and atrial fibrillation (AF) among African Americans.

BACKGROUND: The SCN5A missense variant S1103Y has been associated with SCD among African Americans in small case-control studies, but larger population-based studies are needed to validate these findings. The association of this variant with AF has not been fully explored.

METHODS: Using genotyping data on over 7,000 African Americans from 5 cohorts (Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities [ARIC], Cleveland Family Study [CFS], Jackson Heart Study [JHS], Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis [MESA], Cardiovascular Health Study [CHS]), we examined the association of rs7629265 with electrocardiographic PR, QRS, and QT intervals, and with incident AF and SCD. We examined association of S1103Y (rs7626962) with SCD using a population-based case-control study of SCD Cardiac Arrest Blood Study (CABS).

RESULTS: Meta-analyses across 5 cohorts demonstrated that rs7629265 was significantly associated with PR duration (β = -4.1 milliseconds; P = 2.2{\texttimes}10(-6) ), but not significantly associated with QRS or QT intervals. In meta-analyses of prospectively followed ARIC and CHS participants (n = 3,656), rs7629265 was associated with increased AF risk (n = 299 AF cases; HR = 1.74, P = 1.9 {\texttimes} 10(-4) ). By contrast, rs7629265 was not significantly associated with SCD risk in ARIC (n = 83 SCD cases; P = 0.30) or CHS (n = 54 SCD cases; P = 0.47). Similarly, S1103Y was not significantly associated with SCD risk in CABS (n = 225 SCD cases; P = 0.29).

CONCLUSION: The common SCN5A variant, rs7629265, is associated with increased AF risk and shorter PR interval among African Americans. In contrast to prior reports, we found no evidence of association of rs7629265 or rs7626962 (S1103Y) with SCD risk in the general population.

}, keywords = {Adult, African Americans, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Atrial Fibrillation, Case-Control Studies, Cohort Studies, Death, Sudden, Cardiac, Female, Genetic Variation, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, NAV1.5 Voltage-Gated Sodium Channel, Prospective Studies, Risk Factors, Single-Blind Method}, issn = {1540-8167}, doi = {10.1111/jce.12483}, author = {Ilkhanoff, Leonard and Arking, Dan E and Lemaitre, Rozenn N and Alonso, Alvaro and Chen, Lin Y and Durda, Peter and Hesselson, Stephanie E and Kerr, Kathleen F and Magnani, Jared W and Marcus, Gregory M and Schnabel, Renate B and Smith, J Gustav and Soliman, Elsayed Z and Reiner, Alexander P and Sotoodehnia, Nona} } @article {6611, title = {A genetic association study of D-dimer levels with 50K SNPs from a candidate gene chip in four ethnic groups.}, journal = {Thromb Res}, volume = {134}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Aug}, pages = {462-7}, abstract = {

INTRODUCTION: D-dimer, a fibrin degradation product, is related to risk of cardiovascular disease and venous thromboembolism. Genetic determinants of D-dimer are not well characterized; notably, few data have been reported for African American (AA), Asian, and Hispanic populations.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We conducted a large-scale candidate gene association study to identify variants in genes associated with D-dimer levels in multi-ethnic populations. Four cohorts, comprising 6,848 European Americans (EAs), 2,192 AAs, 670 Asians, and 1,286 Hispanics in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Candidate Gene Association Resource consortium, were assembled. Approximately 50,000 genotyped single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 2,000 cardiovascular disease gene loci were analyzed by linear regression, adjusting for age, sex, study site, and principal components in each cohort and ethnic group. Results across studies were combined within each ethnic group by meta-analysis.

RESULTS: Twelve SNPs in coagulation factor V (F5) and 3 SNPs in the fibrinogen alpha chain (FGA) were significantly associated with D-dimer level in EAs with p<2.0{\texttimes}10(-6). The signal for the most associated SNP in F5 (rs6025, factor V Leiden) was replicated in Hispanics (p=0.023), while that for the top functional SNP in FGA (rs6050) was replicated in AAs (p=0.006). No additional SNPs were significantly associated with D-dimer.

CONCLUSIONS: Our study replicated previously reported associations of D-dimer with SNPs in F5 and FGA in EAs; we demonstrated replication of the association of D-dimer with FGA rs6050 in AAs and the factor V Leiden variant in Hispanics.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Cardiovascular Diseases, Ethnic Groups, Factor V, Female, Fibrin Fibrinogen Degradation Products, Fibrinogen, Genetic Association Studies, Genotype, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Young Adult}, issn = {1879-2472}, doi = {10.1016/j.thromres.2014.05.018}, author = {Weng, Lu-Chen and Tang, Weihong and Rich, Stephen S and Smith, Nicholas L and Redline, Susan and O{\textquoteright}Donnell, Christopher J and Basu, Saonli and Reiner, Alexander P and Delaney, Joseph A and Tracy, Russell P and Palmer, Cameron D and Young, Taylor and Yang, Qiong and Folsom, Aaron R and Cushman, Mary} } @article {6577, title = {Whole-exome sequencing identifies rare and low-frequency coding variants associated with LDL cholesterol.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {94}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 Feb 06}, pages = {233-45}, abstract = {

Elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) is a treatable, heritable risk factor for cardiovascular disease. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified 157 variants associated with lipid levels but are not well suited to assess the impact of rare and low-frequency variants. To determine whether rare or low-frequency coding variants are associated with LDL-C, we exome sequenced 2,005 individuals, including 554 individuals selected for extreme LDL-C (>98(th) or <2(nd) percentile). Follow-up analyses included sequencing of 1,302 additional individuals and genotype-based analysis of 52,221 individuals. We observed significant evidence of association between LDL-C and the burden of rare or low-frequency variants in PNPLA5, encoding a phospholipase-domain-containing protein, and both known and previously unidentified variants in PCSK9, LDLR and APOB, three known lipid-related genes. The effect sizes for the burden of rare variants for each associated gene were substantially higher than those observed for individual SNPs identified from GWASs. We replicated the PNPLA5 signal in an independent large-scale sequencing study of 2,084 individuals. In conclusion, this large whole-exome-sequencing study for LDL-C identified a gene not known to be implicated in LDL-C and provides unique insight into the design and analysis of similar experiments.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Apolipoproteins E, Cholesterol, LDL, Cohort Studies, Dyslipidemias, Exome, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Gene Frequency, Genetic Code, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genotype, Humans, Lipase, Male, Middle Aged, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Proprotein Convertase 9, Proprotein Convertases, Receptors, LDL, Sequence Analysis, DNA, Serine Endopeptidases}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2014.01.010}, author = {Lange, Leslie A and Hu, Youna and Zhang, He and Xue, Chenyi and Schmidt, Ellen M and Tang, Zheng-Zheng and Bizon, Chris and Lange, Ethan M and Smith, Joshua D and Turner, Emily H and Jun, Goo and Kang, Hyun Min and Peloso, Gina and Auer, Paul and Li, Kuo-Ping and Flannick, Jason and Zhang, Ji and Fuchsberger, Christian and Gaulton, Kyle and Lindgren, Cecilia and Locke, Adam and Manning, Alisa and Sim, Xueling and Rivas, Manuel A and Holmen, Oddgeir L and Gottesman, Omri and Lu, Yingchang and Ruderfer, Douglas and Stahl, Eli A and Duan, Qing and Li, Yun and Durda, Peter and Jiao, Shuo and Isaacs, Aaron and Hofman, Albert and Bis, Joshua C and Correa, Adolfo and Griswold, Michael E and Jakobsdottir, Johanna and Smith, Albert V and Schreiner, Pamela J and Feitosa, Mary F and Zhang, Qunyuan and Huffman, Jennifer E and Crosby, Jacy and Wassel, Christina L and Do, Ron and Franceschini, Nora and Martin, Lisa W and Robinson, Jennifer G and Assimes, Themistocles L and Crosslin, David R and Rosenthal, Elisabeth A and Tsai, Michael and Rieder, Mark J and Farlow, Deborah N and Folsom, Aaron R and Lumley, Thomas and Fox, Ervin R and Carlson, Christopher S and Peters, Ulrike and Jackson, Rebecca D and van Duijn, Cornelia M and Uitterlinden, Andr{\'e} G and Levy, Daniel and Rotter, Jerome I and Taylor, Herman A and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Siscovick, David S and Fornage, Myriam and Borecki, Ingrid B and Hayward, Caroline and Rudan, Igor and Chen, Y Eugene and Bottinger, Erwin P and Loos, Ruth J F and S{\ae}trom, P{\r a}l and Hveem, Kristian and Boehnke, Michael and Groop, Leif and McCarthy, Mark and Meitinger, Thomas and Ballantyne, Christie M and Gabriel, Stacey B and O{\textquoteright}Donnell, Christopher J and Post, Wendy S and North, Kari E and Reiner, Alexander P and Boerwinkle, Eric and Psaty, Bruce M and Altshuler, David and Kathiresan, Sekar and Lin, Dan-Yu and Jarvik, Gail P and Cupples, L Adrienne and Kooperberg, Charles and Wilson, James G and Nickerson, Deborah A and Abecasis, Goncalo R and Rich, Stephen S and Tracy, Russell P and Willer, Cristen J} } @article {7376, title = {Gene-centric approach identifies new and known loci for FVIII activity and VWF antigen levels in European Americans and African Americans.}, journal = {Am J Hematol}, volume = {90}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Jun}, pages = {534-40}, abstract = {

Coagulation factor VIII and von Willebrand factor (VWF) are key proteins in procoagulant activation. Higher FVIII coagulant activity (FVIII :C) and VWF antigen (VWF :Ag) are risk factors for cardiovascular disease and venous thromboembolism. Beyond associations with ABO blood group, genetic determinants of FVIII and VWF are not well understood, especially in non European-American populations. We performed a genetic association study of FVIII :C and VWF:Ag that assessed 50,000 gene-centric single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 18,556 European Americans (EAs) and 5,047 African Americans (AAs) from five population-based cohorts. Previously unreported associations for FVIII :C were identified in both AAs and EAs with KNG1 (most significantly associated SNP rs710446, Ile581Thr, Ile581Thr, P = 5.10 {\texttimes} 10(-7) in EAs and P = 3.88 {\texttimes} 10(-3) in AAs) and VWF rs7962217 (Gly2705Arg,P = 6.30 {\texttimes} 10(-9) in EAs and P = 2.98 {\texttimes} 10(-2) in AAs. Significant associations for FVIII :C were also observed with F8/TMLHE region SNP rs12557310 in EAs (P = 8.02 {\texttimes} 10(-10) ), with VWF rs1800380 in AAs (P = 5.62 {\texttimes} 10(-11) ), and with MAT1A rs2236568 in AAs (P51.69 {\texttimes} 10(-6) ). We replicated previously reported associations of FVIII :C and VWF :Ag with the ABO blood group, VWF rs1063856(Thr789Ala), rs216321 (Ala852Gln), and VWF rs2229446 (Arg2185Gln). Findings from this study expand our understanding of genetic influences for FVIII :C and VWF :Ag in both EAs and AAs.

}, keywords = {Adult, African Americans, Aged, European Continental Ancestry Group, Factor VIII, Female, Genetic Loci, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans, Male, Methionine Adenosyltransferase, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Venous Thromboembolism, von Willebrand Factor}, issn = {1096-8652}, doi = {10.1002/ajh.24005}, author = {Tang, Weihong and Cushman, Mary and Green, David and Rich, Stephen S and Lange, Leslie A and Yang, Qiong and Tracy, Russell P and Tofler, Geoffrey H and Basu, Saonli and Wilson, James G and Keating, Brendan J and Weng, Lu-Chen and Taylor, Herman A and Jacobs, David R and Delaney, Joseph A and Palmer, Cameron D and Young, Taylor and Pankow, James S and O{\textquoteright}Donnell, Christopher J and Smith, Nicholas L and Reiner, Alexander P and Folsom, Aaron R} } @article {8779, title = {Whole-genome sequencing association analysis of quantitative red blood cell phenotypes: The NHLBI TOPMed program.}, journal = {Am J Hum Genet}, volume = {108}, year = {2021}, month = {2021 05 06}, pages = {874-893}, abstract = {

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS), a powerful tool for detecting novel coding and non-coding disease-causing variants, has largely been applied to clinical diagnosis of inherited disorders. Here we leveraged WGS data in up to 62,653 ethnically diverse participants from the NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program and assessed statistical association of variants with seven red blood cell (RBC) quantitative traits. We discovered 14 single variant-RBC trait associations at 12 genomic loci, which have not been reported previously. Several of the RBC trait-variant associations (RPN1, ELL2, MIDN, HBB, HBA1, PIEZO1, and G6PD) were replicated in independent GWAS datasets imputed to the TOPMed reference panel. Most of these discovered variants are rare/low frequency, and several are observed disproportionately among non-European Ancestry (African, Hispanic/Latino, or East Asian) populations. We identified a 3~bp indel p.Lys2169del (g.88717175_88717177TCT[4]) (common only in the Ashkenazi Jewish population) of PIEZO1, a gene responsible for the Mendelian red cell disorder hereditary xerocytosis (MIM: 194380), associated with higher mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC). In stepwise conditional analysis and in gene-based rare variant aggregated association analysis, we identified several of the variants in HBB, HBA1, TMPRSS6, and G6PD that represent the carrier state for known coding, promoter, or splice site loss-of-function variants that cause inherited RBC disorders. Finally, we applied base and nuclease editing to demonstrate that the sentinel variant rs112097551 (nearest gene RPN1) acts through a cis-regulatory element that exerts long-range control of the gene RUVBL1 which is essential for hematopoiesis. Together, these results demonstrate the utility of WGS in ethnically diverse population-based samples and gene editing for expanding knowledge of the genetic architecture of quantitative hematologic traits and suggest a continuum between complex trait and Mendelian red cell disorders.

}, keywords = {Adult, Aged, Chromosomes, Human, Pair 16, Datasets as Topic, Erythrocytes, Female, Gene Editing, Genetic Variation, Genome-Wide Association Study, HEK293 Cells, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (U.S.), Phenotype, Quality Control, Reproducibility of Results, United States}, issn = {1537-6605}, doi = {10.1016/j.ajhg.2021.04.003}, author = {Hu, Yao and Stilp, Adrienne M and McHugh, Caitlin P and Rao, Shuquan and Jain, Deepti and Zheng, Xiuwen and Lane, John and M{\'e}ric de Bellefon, S{\'e}bastian and Raffield, Laura M and Chen, Ming-Huei and Yanek, Lisa R and Wheeler, Marsha and Yao, Yao and Ren, Chunyan and Broome, Jai and Moon, Jee-Young and de Vries, Paul S and Hobbs, Brian D and Sun, Quan and Surendran, Praveen and Brody, Jennifer A and Blackwell, Thomas W and Choquet, Helene and Ryan, Kathleen and Duggirala, Ravindranath and Heard-Costa, Nancy and Wang, Zhe and Chami, Nathalie and Preuss, Michael H and Min, Nancy and Ekunwe, Lynette and Lange, Leslie A and Cushman, Mary and Faraday, Nauder and Curran, Joanne E and Almasy, Laura and Kundu, Kousik and Smith, Albert V and Gabriel, Stacey and Rotter, Jerome I and Fornage, Myriam and Lloyd-Jones, Donald M and Vasan, Ramachandran S and Smith, Nicholas L and North, Kari E and Boerwinkle, Eric and Becker, Lewis C and Lewis, Joshua P and Abecasis, Goncalo R and Hou, Lifang and O{\textquoteright}Connell, Jeffrey R and Morrison, Alanna C and Beaty, Terri H and Kaplan, Robert and Correa, Adolfo and Blangero, John and Jorgenson, Eric and Psaty, Bruce M and Kooperberg, Charles and Walton, Russell T and Kleinstiver, Benjamin P and Tang, Hua and Loos, Ruth J F and Soranzo, Nicole and Butterworth, Adam S and Nickerson, Debbie and Rich, Stephen S and Mitchell, Braxton D and Johnson, Andrew D and Auer, Paul L and Li, Yun and Mathias, Rasika A and Lettre, Guillaume and Pankratz, Nathan and Laurie, Cathy C and Laurie, Cecelia A and Bauer, Daniel E and Conomos, Matthew P and Reiner, Alexander P} } @article {9869, title = {Cardiovascular Risk Factors and Genetic Risk in Transthyretin V142I Carriers.}, journal = {JACC Heart Fail}, volume = {13}, year = {2025}, month = {2025 Jan}, pages = {91-101}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Nearly 3\% to 4\% of Black individuals in the United States carry the transthyretin V142I variant, which increases their risk of heart failure. However, the role of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors (RFs) in influencing the risk of clinical outcomes among V142I variant carriers is unknown.

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to assess the impact of CV RFs on the risk of heart failure in V142I carriers.

METHODS: This study included self-identified Black individuals without prevalent heart failure from 6 TOPMed (Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine) cohorts, the REGARDS (Reasons for Geographic And Racial Differences in Stroke) study, and the All of Us Research Program. The cohort was stratified based on the V142I genotype and the number of CV RFs (hypertension, diabetes, obesity, and hypercholesterolemia). Adjusted Cox models were used to assess the association of heart failure with the V142I genotype and CV RF profile, taking noncarriers with a favorable CV RF profile as reference.

RESULTS: The cross-sectional analysis, including 1,625 V142I carriers among 48,365 Black individuals, found that the prevalence of CV RFs did not vary by V142I carrier status. In the longitudinal analysis, there were 587 (3.2\%) V142I carriers among 18,407 Black individuals (median age: 60 years [Q1-Q3: 52-68 years], 63.0\% female). Among carriers, the heart failure risk was attenuated with a favorable (0 or 1 RF) CV RF profile (adjusted HR: 2.26; 95\%~CI: 1.58-3.23) compared with an unfavorable (3 or 4 RFs) CV RF profile (adjusted HR: 4.14; 95\%~CI: 2.79-6.14).

CONCLUSIONS: A favorable CV RF profile lowers but does not abrogate V142I variant-associated heart failure risk. This study highlights the importance of having a favorable CV RF profile among V142I carriers for risk reduction of heart failure.

}, keywords = {Aged, Black or African American, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cross-Sectional Studies, Diabetes Mellitus, Female, Genotype, Heart Disease Risk Factors, Heart Failure, Heterozygote, Humans, Hypercholesterolemia, Hypertension, Male, Middle Aged, Obesity, Prealbumin, Risk Factors, United States}, issn = {2213-1787}, doi = {10.1016/j.jchf.2024.08.019}, author = {Shetty, Naman S and Gaonkar, Mokshad and Pampana, Akhil and Patel, Nirav and Morrison, Alanna C and Reiner, Alexander P and Carson, April P and Yu, Bing and Psaty, Bruce M and Kooperberg, Charles and Fatkin, Diane and Boerwinkle, Eric and Rotter, Jerome I and Taylor, Kent D and Hou, Lifang and Irvin, Marguerite R and Hall, Michael E and Maurer, Mathew and Fornage, Myriam and Armstrong, Nicole D and Bart, Nicole and Goyal, Parag and Rich, Stephen S and Vasan, Ramachandran S and Li, Peng and Arora, Garima and Arora, Pankaj} }