@article {734, title = {The prevalence and risk factors of retinal microvascular abnormalities in older persons: The Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Ophthalmology}, volume = {110}, year = {2003}, month = {2003 Apr}, pages = {658-66}, abstract = {

PURPOSE: To describe the prevalence of retinal microvascular characteristics and their associations with atherosclerosis in elderly, nondiabetic persons.

DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: Population-based, cross-sectional study comprising 2050 men and women aged 69 to 97 years without diabetes, living in four communities.

METHODS: Participants underwent retinal photography and standardized grading of retinal microvascular characteristics, including retinopathy (e.g., microaneurysms, retinal hemorrhages), focal arteriolar narrowing, and arteriovenous nicking. In addition, calibers of retinal arterioles and venules were measured on digitized photographs to obtain an estimate of generalized arteriolar narrowing. Atherosclerosis and its risk factors were obtained from clinical examination and laboratory investigations.

MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Prevalence of retinal microvascular abnormalities and their associations with measures of atherosclerosis.

RESULTS: The prevalence of retinal microvascular abnormalities was 8.3\% for retinopathy, 9.6\% for focal arteriolar narrowing, and 7.7\% for arteriovenous nicking. All retinal lesions were associated with hypertension (odds ratios [OR] were 1.8 for retinopathy, 2.1 for focal arteriolar narrowing, 1.5 for arteriovenous nicking, and 1.7 for generalized arteriolar narrowing). After controlling for age, gender, race, mean arterial blood pressure, and antihypertensive medication use, retinopathy was associated with prevalent coronary heart disease (OR, 1.7), prevalent myocardial infarction (OR, 1.7), prevalent stroke (OR, 2.0), presence of carotid artery plaque (OR, 1.9), and increased intima-media thickness of the common carotid (OR, 2.3; fourth vs. first quartile) and internal carotid (OR, 1.8; fourth vs. first quartile) arteries. In contrast, focal arteriolar narrowing, arteriovenous nicking, and generalized arteriolar narrowing were not associated with any measures of atherosclerosis.

CONCLUSIONS: Retinal microvascular abnormalities are common in older persons without diabetes and are related to hypertension. Retinopathy is associated with prevalent coronary heart disease, stroke, and carotid artery thickening, but focal and generalized arteriolar narrowing and arteriovenous nicking are not related to most measures of atherosclerosis. These data suggest that retinal microvascular abnormalities reflect processes associated with hypertension but distinct from atherosclerosis.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Blood Pressure, Coronary Artery Disease, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Hypertension, Male, Prevalence, Retinal Diseases, Retinal Vessels, Risk Factors, United States}, issn = {0161-6420}, doi = {10.1016/S0161-6420(02)01931-0}, author = {Wong, Tien Yin and Klein, Ronald and Sharrett, A Richey and Manolio, Teri A and Hubbard, Larry D and Marino, Emily K and Kuller, Lewis and Burke, Gregory and Tracy, Russell P and Polak, Joseph F and Gottdiener, John S and Siscovick, David S} } @article {786, title = {Alcohol consumption and inflammatory markers in older adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Atherosclerosis}, volume = {173}, year = {2004}, month = {2004 Mar}, pages = {79-87}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: We sought to determine the relation of alcohol intake and systemic inflammation in a population-based sample of older adults.

METHODS AND RESULTS: As part of the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS), 5865 adults aged 65 years and older reported their intake of beer, wine, and liquor. We determined white blood cell count (WBC), factor VIII coagulant activity (factor VIIIc), and levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), fibrinogen, and albumin as markers of systemic inflammation. Among participants without confirmed cardiovascular disease, alcohol consumption was inversely associated with WBC, factor VIIIc, and fibrinogen level, and positively associated with albumin concentration in multivariate analyses. We found no consistent modification of these results by sex, obesity, or beverage type. The relation of alcohol use and CRP levels was significantly modified by apoE genotype (P interaction 0.03), with a positive association among participants with an apoE4 allele (P = 0.05), but a trend toward an inverse association among those without an apoE4 allele (P = 0.15).

CONCLUSIONS: Alcohol intake is associated with lower levels of inflammatory markers in older adults free of cardiovascular disease.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alcohol Drinking, Apolipoproteins E, C-Reactive Protein, Coronary Artery Disease, Female, Fibrinogen, Geriatric Assessment, Humans, Inflammation Mediators, Leukocyte Count, Logistic Models, Longitudinal Studies, Male, Probability, Prospective Studies, Risk Assessment, Sensitivity and Specificity, Severity of Illness Index}, issn = {0021-9150}, doi = {10.1016/j.atherosclerosis.2003.10.011}, author = {Mukamal, Kenneth J and Cushman, Mary and Mittleman, Murray A and Tracy, Russell P and Siscovick, David S} } @article {825, title = {beta(2)-Adrenergic receptor polymorphisms and determinants of cardiovascular risk: the Cardiovascular Health Study.}, journal = {Am J Hypertens}, volume = {18}, year = {2005}, month = {2005 Mar}, pages = {392-7}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Common Arg16Gly and Gln27Glu polymorphisms of the beta(2)-adrenergic receptor (beta(2)AR) have been associated with hypertension and coronary disease. This analysis of older adults in the Cardiovascular Health Study examined whether these polymorphisms were associated with blood pressure (BP), subclinical atherosclerosis, and, among treated hypertensive individuals, differences in coronary disease risk according to antihypertensive drug class.

METHODS: Altogether, 5249 participants (4441 white and 808 African American, median follow-up time 10.2 years) were genotyped for both polymorphisms. Ankle-arm index (AAI), carotid intima-media thickness (IMT), and brachial flow-mediated dilation were measured cross-sectionally. All estimates were adjusted for ethnicity.

RESULTS: Relative to Gln27 homozygotes, carrying the Glu27 allele was not associated with new-onset hypertension (hazard ratio [HR] = 1.01, 95\% confidence interval [CI] = 0.87 to 1.16), BP control (odds ratio [OR] = 0.97, 95\% CI = 0.89 to 1.06), AAI (mean difference 0.0042 +/- 0.0052), carotid IMT (mean difference 0.0044 +/- 0.02 mm), or brachial flow-mediated dilation (mean difference in baseline diameter -0.028 +/- 0.036 mm; the most marked of three measures). Among treated hypertensive individuals, coronary disease risk was similar in Glu27 carriers relative to Gln27 homozygotes in subgroups defined by use of beta-blockers (HR = 1.09, 95\% CI = 0.64 to 1.87) or other antihypertensive medications (HR = 1.00, 95\% CI = 0.78 to 1.28). Results were similar for the Arg16Gly polymorphism.

CONCLUSIONS: The association of beta(2)AR genotype with coronary disease previously reported in this older adult population is not likely to be explained by BP levels, subclinical atherosclerosis, or antihypertensive treatment. Other measures of vascular response, gene-gene or gene-environment interactions, or characteristics developing earlier in life may mediate the association between beta(2)AR genotype and coronary disease and merit further research.

}, keywords = {African Americans, Antihypertensive Agents, Arteriosclerosis, Coronary Artery Disease, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Genotype, Homozygote, Humans, Hypertension, Incidence, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Genetic, Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-2, Risk Factors}, issn = {0895-7061}, doi = {10.1016/j.amjhyper.2004.10.014}, author = {Hindorff, Lucia A and Heckbert, Susan R and Psaty, Bruce M and Lumley, Thomas and Siscovick, David S and Herrington, David M and Edwards, Karen L and Tracy, Russell 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 {1341, title = {Eight genetic loci associated with variation in lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 mass and activity and coronary heart disease: meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies from five community-based studies.}, journal = {Eur Heart J}, volume = {33}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Jan}, pages = {238-51}, abstract = {

AIMS: Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2) generates proinflammatory and proatherogenic compounds in the arterial vascular wall and is a potential therapeutic target in coronary heart disease (CHD). We searched for genetic loci related to Lp-PLA2 mass or activity by a genome-wide association study as part of the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium.

METHODS AND RESULTS: In meta-analyses of findings from five population-based studies, comprising 13 664 subjects, variants at two loci (PLA2G7, CETP) were associated with Lp-PLA2 mass. The strongest signal was at rs1805017 in PLA2G7 [P = 2.4 {\texttimes} 10(-23), log Lp-PLA2 difference per allele (beta): 0.043]. Variants at six loci were associated with Lp-PLA2 activity (PLA2G7, APOC1, CELSR2, LDL, ZNF259, SCARB1), among which the strongest signals were at rs4420638, near the APOE-APOC1-APOC4-APOC2 cluster [P = 4.9 {\texttimes} 10(-30); log Lp-PLA2 difference per allele (beta): -0.054]. There were no significant gene-environment interactions between these eight polymorphisms associated with Lp-PLA2 mass or activity and age, sex, body mass index, or smoking status. Four of the polymorphisms (in APOC1, CELSR2, SCARB1, ZNF259), but not PLA2G7, were significantly associated with CHD in a second study.

CONCLUSION: Levels of Lp-PLA2 mass and activity were associated with PLA2G7, the gene coding for this protein. Lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 activity was also strongly associated with genetic variants related to low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels.

}, keywords = {1-Alkyl-2-acetylglycerophosphocholine Esterase, Aged, Coronary Artery Disease, Coronary Disease, Female, Genetic Loci, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Phospholipases A2, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide}, issn = {1522-9645}, doi = {10.1093/eurheartj/ehr372}, author = {Grallert, Harald and Dupuis, Jos{\'e}e and Bis, Joshua C and Dehghan, Abbas and Barbalic, Maja and Baumert, Jens and Lu, Chen and Smith, Nicholas L and Uitterlinden, Andr{\'e} G and Roberts, Robert and Khuseyinova, Natalie and Schnabel, Renate B and Rice, Kenneth M and Rivadeneira, Fernando and Hoogeveen, Ron C and Fontes, Jo{\~a}o Daniel and Meisinger, Christa and Keaney, John F and Lemaitre, Rozenn and Aulchenko, Yurii S and Vasan, Ramachandran S and Ellis, Stephen and Hazen, Stanley L and van Duijn, Cornelia M and Nelson, Jeanenne J and M{\"a}rz, Winfried and Schunkert, Heribert and McPherson, Ruth M and Stirnadel-Farrant, Heide A and Psaty, Bruce M and Gieger, Christian and Siscovick, David and Hofman, Albert and Illig, Thomas and Cushman, Mary and Yamamoto, Jennifer F and Rotter, Jerome I and Larson, Martin G and Stewart, Alexandre F R and Boerwinkle, Eric and Witteman, Jacqueline C M and Tracy, Russell P and Koenig, Wolfgang and Benjamin, Emelia J and Ballantyne, Christie M} } @article {6089, title = {Genome-wide association study for circulating levels of PAI-1 provides novel insights into its regulation.}, journal = {Blood}, volume = {120}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Dec 06}, pages = {4873-81}, abstract = {

We conducted a genome-wide association study to identify novel associations between genetic variants and circulating plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) concentration, and examined functional implications of variants and genes that were discovered. A discovery meta-analysis was performed in 19 599 subjects, followed by replication analysis of genome-wide significant (P < 5 {\texttimes} 10(-8)) single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 10 796 independent samples. We further examined associations with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease, assessed the functional significance of the SNPs for gene expression in human tissues, and conducted RNA-silencing experiments for one novel association. We confirmed the association of the 4G/5G proxy SNP rs2227631 in the promoter region of SERPINE1 (7q22.1) and discovered genome-wide significant associations at 3 additional loci: chromosome 7q22.1 close to SERPINE1 (rs6976053, discovery P = 3.4 {\texttimes} 10(-10)); chromosome 11p15.2 within ARNTL (rs6486122, discovery P = 3.0 {\texttimes} 10(-8)); and chromosome 3p25.2 within PPARG (rs11128603, discovery P = 2.9 {\texttimes} 10(-8)). Replication was achieved for the 7q22.1 and 11p15.2 loci. There was nominal association with type 2 diabetes and coronary artery disease at ARNTL (P < .05). Functional studies identified MUC3 as a candidate gene for the second association signal on 7q22.1. In summary, SNPs in SERPINE1 and ARNTL and an SNP associated with the expression of MUC3 were robustly associated with circulating levels of PAI-1.

}, keywords = {Adaptor Proteins, Signal Transducing, ARNTL Transcription Factors, ATPases Associated with Diverse Cellular Activities, Cell Line, Cell Line, Tumor, Cohort Studies, Coronary Artery Disease, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2, Gene Expression Profiling, Gene Expression Regulation, Gene Frequency, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genotype, Humans, LIM Domain Proteins, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Monocytes, Mucin-3, Plasminogen Activator Inhibitor 1, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, PPAR gamma, Proteasome Endopeptidase Complex, RNA Interference, Transcription Factors}, issn = {1528-0020}, doi = {10.1182/blood-2012-06-436188}, author = {Huang, Jie and Sabater-Lleal, Maria and Asselbergs, Folkert W and Tregouet, David and Shin, So-Youn and Ding, Jingzhong and Baumert, Jens and Oudot-Mellakh, Tiphaine and Folkersen, Lasse and Johnson, Andrew D and Smith, Nicholas L and Williams, Scott M and Ikram, Mohammad A and Kleber, Marcus E and Becker, Diane M and Truong, Vinh and Mychaleckyj, Josyf C and Tang, Weihong and Yang, Qiong and Sennblad, Bengt and Moore, Jason H and Williams, Frances M K and Dehghan, Abbas and Silbernagel, G{\"u}nther and Schrijvers, Elisabeth M C and Smith, Shelly and Karakas, Mahir and Tofler, Geoffrey H and Silveira, Angela and Navis, Gerjan J and Lohman, Kurt and Chen, Ming-Huei and Peters, Annette and Goel, Anuj and Hopewell, Jemma C and Chambers, John C and Saleheen, Danish and Lundmark, Per and Psaty, Bruce M and Strawbridge, Rona J and Boehm, Bernhard O and Carter, Angela M and Meisinger, Christa and Peden, John F and Bis, Joshua C and McKnight, Barbara and Ohrvik, John and Taylor, Kent and Franzosi, Maria Grazia and Seedorf, Udo and Collins, Rory and Franco-Cereceda, Anders and Syv{\"a}nen, Ann-Christine and Goodall, Alison H and Yanek, Lisa R and Cushman, Mary and M{\"u}ller-Nurasyid, Martina and Folsom, Aaron R and Basu, Saonli and Matijevic, Nena and van Gilst, Wiek H and Kooner, Jaspal S and Hofman, Albert and Danesh, John and Clarke, Robert and Meigs, James B and Kathiresan, Sekar and Reilly, Muredach P and Klopp, Norman and Harris, Tamara B and Winkelmann, Bernhard R and Grant, Peter J and Hillege, Hans L and Watkins, Hugh and Spector, Timothy D and Becker, Lewis C and Tracy, Russell P and M{\"a}rz, Winfried and Uitterlinden, Andr{\'e} G and Eriksson, Per and Cambien, Francois and Morange, Pierre-Emmanuel and Koenig, Wolfgang and Soranzo, Nicole and van der Harst, Pim and Liu, Yongmei and O{\textquoteright}Donnell, Christopher J and Hamsten, Anders} } @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 {6155, title = {Multiethnic meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies in >100 000 subjects identifies 23 fibrinogen-associated Loci but no strong evidence of a causal association between circulating fibrinogen and cardiovascular disease.}, journal = {Circulation}, volume = {128}, year = {2013}, month = {2013 Sep 17}, pages = {1310-24}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Estimates of the heritability of plasma fibrinogen concentration, an established predictor of cardiovascular disease, range from 34\% to 50\%. Genetic variants so far identified by genome-wide association studies explain only a small proportion (<2\%) of its variation.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We conducted a meta-analysis of 28 genome-wide association studies including >90 000 subjects of European ancestry, the first genome-wide association meta-analysis of fibrinogen levels in 7 studies in blacks totaling 8289 samples, and a genome-wide association study in Hispanics totaling 1366 samples. Evaluation for association of single-nucleotide polymorphisms with clinical outcomes included a total of 40 695 cases and 85 582 controls for coronary artery disease, 4752 cases and 24 030 controls for stroke, and 3208 cases and 46 167 controls for venous thromboembolism. Overall, we identified 24 genome-wide significant (P<5{\texttimes}10(-8)) independent signals in 23 loci, including 15 novel associations, together accounting for 3.7\% of plasma fibrinogen variation. Gene-set enrichment analysis highlighted key roles in fibrinogen regulation for the 3 structural fibrinogen genes and pathways related to inflammation, adipocytokines, and thyrotrophin-releasing hormone signaling. Whereas lead single-nucleotide polymorphisms in a few loci were significantly associated with coronary artery disease, the combined effect of all 24 fibrinogen-associated lead single-nucleotide polymorphisms was not significant for coronary artery disease, stroke, or venous thromboembolism.

CONCLUSIONS: We identify 23 robustly associated fibrinogen loci, 15 of which are new. Clinical outcome analysis of these loci does not support a causal relationship between circulating levels of fibrinogen and coronary artery disease, stroke, or venous thromboembolism.

}, keywords = {Adolescent, Adult, African Continental Ancestry Group, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cardiovascular Diseases, Coronary Artery Disease, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Fibrinogen, Genetic Loci, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome-Wide Association Study, Hispanic Americans, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Myocardial Infarction, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Risk Factors, Stroke, Venous Thromboembolism, Young Adult}, issn = {1524-4539}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.113.002251}, author = {Sabater-Lleal, Maria and Huang, Jie and Chasman, Daniel and Naitza, Silvia and Dehghan, Abbas and Johnson, Andrew D and Teumer, Alexander and Reiner, Alex P and Folkersen, Lasse and Basu, Saonli and Rudnicka, Alicja R and Trompet, Stella and M{\"a}larstig, Anders and Baumert, Jens and Bis, Joshua C and Guo, Xiuqing and Hottenga, Jouke J and Shin, So-Youn and Lopez, Lorna M and Lahti, Jari and Tanaka, Toshiko and Yanek, Lisa R and Oudot-Mellakh, Tiphaine and Wilson, James F and Navarro, Pau and Huffman, Jennifer E and Zemunik, Tatijana and Redline, Susan and Mehra, Reena and Pulanic, Drazen and Rudan, Igor and Wright, Alan F and Kolcic, Ivana and Polasek, Ozren and Wild, Sarah H and Campbell, Harry and Curb, J David and Wallace, Robert and Liu, Simin and Eaton, Charles B and Becker, Diane M and Becker, Lewis C and Bandinelli, Stefania and R{\"a}ikk{\"o}nen, Katri and Widen, Elisabeth and Palotie, Aarno and Fornage, Myriam and Green, David and Gross, Myron and Davies, Gail and Harris, Sarah E and Liewald, David C and Starr, John M and Williams, Frances M K and Grant, Peter J and Spector, Timothy D and Strawbridge, Rona J and Silveira, Angela and Sennblad, Bengt and Rivadeneira, Fernando and Uitterlinden, Andr{\'e} G and Franco, Oscar H and Hofman, Albert and van Dongen, Jenny and Willemsen, Gonneke and Boomsma, Dorret I and Yao, Jie and Swords Jenny, Nancy and Haritunians, Talin and McKnight, Barbara and Lumley, Thomas and Taylor, Kent D and Rotter, Jerome I and Psaty, Bruce M and Peters, Annette and Gieger, Christian and Illig, Thomas and Grotevendt, Anne and Homuth, Georg and V{\"o}lzke, Henry and Kocher, Thomas and Goel, Anuj and Franzosi, Maria Grazia and Seedorf, Udo and Clarke, Robert and Steri, Maristella and Tarasov, Kirill V and Sanna, Serena and Schlessinger, David and Stott, David J and Sattar, Naveed and Buckley, Brendan M and Rumley, Ann and Lowe, Gordon D and McArdle, Wendy L and Chen, Ming-Huei and Tofler, Geoffrey H and Song, Jaejoon and Boerwinkle, Eric and Folsom, Aaron R and Rose, Lynda M and Franco-Cereceda, Anders and Teichert, Martina and Ikram, M Arfan and Mosley, Thomas H and Bevan, Steve and Dichgans, Martin and Rothwell, Peter M and Sudlow, Cathie L M and Hopewell, Jemma C and Chambers, John C and Saleheen, Danish and Kooner, Jaspal S and Danesh, John and Nelson, Christopher P and Erdmann, Jeanette and Reilly, Muredach P and Kathiresan, Sekar and Schunkert, Heribert and Morange, Pierre-Emmanuel and Ferrucci, Luigi and Eriksson, Johan G and Jacobs, David and Deary, Ian J and Soranzo, Nicole and Witteman, Jacqueline C M and de Geus, Eco J C and Tracy, Russell P and Hayward, Caroline and Koenig, Wolfgang and Cucca, Francesco and Jukema, J Wouter and Eriksson, Per and Seshadri, Sudha and Markus, Hugh S and Watkins, Hugh and Samani, Nilesh J and Wallaschofski, Henri and Smith, Nicholas L and Tregouet, David and Ridker, Paul M and Tang, Weihong and Strachan, David P and Hamsten, Anders and O{\textquoteright}Donnell, Christopher J} } @article {6367, title = {Genome-wide association study for circulating tissue plasminogen activator levels and functional follow-up implicates endothelial STXBP5 and STX2.}, journal = {Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol}, volume = {34}, year = {2014}, month = {2014 May}, pages = {1093-101}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: Tissue plasminogen activator (tPA), a serine protease, catalyzes the conversion of plasminogen to plasmin, the major enzyme responsible for endogenous fibrinolysis. In some populations, elevated plasma levels of tPA have been associated with myocardial infarction and other cardiovascular diseases. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies to identify novel correlates of circulating levels of tPA.

APPROACH AND RESULTS: Fourteen cohort studies with tPA measures (N=26 929) contributed to the meta-analysis. Three loci were significantly associated with circulating tPA levels (P<5.0{\texttimes}10(-8)). The first locus is on 6q24.3, with the lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP; rs9399599; P=2.9{\texttimes}10(-14)) within STXBP5. The second locus is on 8p11.21. The lead SNP (rs3136739; P=1.3{\texttimes}10(-9)) is intronic to POLB and <200 kb away from the tPA encoding the gene PLAT. We identified a nonsynonymous SNP (rs2020921) in modest linkage disequilibrium with rs3136739 (r(2)=0.50) within exon 5 of PLAT (P=2.0{\texttimes}10(-8)). The third locus is on 12q24.33, with the lead SNP (rs7301826; P=1.0{\texttimes}10(-9)) within intron 7 of STX2. We further found evidence for the association of lead SNPs in STXBP5 and STX2 with expression levels of the respective transcripts. In in vitro cell studies, silencing STXBP5 decreased the release of tPA from vascular endothelial cells, whereas silencing STX2 increased the tPA release. Through an in silico lookup, we found no associations of the 3 lead SNPs with coronary artery disease or stroke.

CONCLUSIONS: We identified 3 loci associated with circulating tPA levels, the PLAT region, STXBP5, and STX2. Our functional studies implicate a novel role for STXBP5 and STX2 in regulating tPA release.

}, keywords = {Aged, Cells, Cultured, Coronary Artery Disease, Endothelial Cells, Europe, Female, Gene Expression Regulation, Gene Silencing, Genetic Loci, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Nerve Tissue Proteins, Phenotype, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, R-SNARE Proteins, Risk Factors, Stroke, Syntaxin 1, Tissue Plasminogen Activator, Transfection, United States, Up-Regulation}, issn = {1524-4636}, doi = {10.1161/ATVBAHA.113.302088}, author = {Huang, Jie and Huffman, Jennifer E and Yamakuchi, Munekazu and Yamkauchi, Munekazu and Trompet, Stella and Asselbergs, Folkert W and Sabater-Lleal, Maria and Tr{\'e}gou{\"e}t, David-Alexandre and Chen, Wei-Min and Smith, Nicholas L and Kleber, Marcus E and Shin, So-Youn and Becker, Diane M and Tang, Weihong and Dehghan, Abbas and Johnson, Andrew D and Truong, Vinh and Folkersen, Lasse and Yang, Qiong and Oudot-Mellkah, Tiphaine and Buckley, Brendan M and Moore, Jason H and Williams, Frances M K and Campbell, Harry and Silbernagel, G{\"u}nther and Vitart, Veronique and Rudan, Igor and Tofler, Geoffrey H and Navis, Gerjan J and DeStefano, Anita and Wright, Alan F and Chen, Ming-Huei and de Craen, Anton J M and Worrall, Bradford B and Rudnicka, Alicja R and Rumley, Ann and Bookman, Ebony B and Psaty, Bruce M and Chen, Fang and Keene, Keith L and Franco, Oscar H and B{\"o}hm, Bernhard O and Uitterlinden, Andr{\'e} G and Carter, Angela M and Jukema, J Wouter and Sattar, Naveed and Bis, Joshua C and Ikram, Mohammad A and Sale, Mich{\`e}le M and McKnight, Barbara and Fornage, Myriam and Ford, Ian and Taylor, Kent and Slagboom, P Eline and McArdle, Wendy L and Hsu, Fang-Chi and Franco-Cereceda, Anders and Goodall, Alison H and Yanek, Lisa R and Furie, Karen L and Cushman, Mary and Hofman, Albert and Witteman, Jacqueline C M and Folsom, Aaron R and Basu, Saonli and Matijevic, Nena and van Gilst, Wiek H and Wilson, James F and Westendorp, Rudi G J and Kathiresan, Sekar and Reilly, Muredach P and Tracy, Russell P and Polasek, Ozren and Winkelmann, Bernhard R and Grant, Peter J and Hillege, Hans L and Cambien, Francois and Stott, David J and Lowe, Gordon D and Spector, Timothy D and Meigs, James B and M{\"a}rz, Winfried and Eriksson, Per and Becker, Lewis C and Morange, Pierre-Emmanuel and Soranzo, Nicole and Williams, Scott M and Hayward, Caroline and van der Harst, Pim and Hamsten, Anders and Lowenstein, Charles J and Strachan, David P and O{\textquoteright}Donnell, Christopher J} } @article {6691, title = {Exome sequencing identifies rare LDLR and APOA5 alleles conferring risk for myocardial infarction.}, journal = {Nature}, volume = {518}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Feb 5}, pages = {102-6}, abstract = {

Myocardial infarction (MI), a leading cause of death around the world, displays a complex pattern of inheritance. When MI occurs early in life, genetic inheritance is a major component to risk. Previously, rare mutations in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) genes have been shown to contribute to MI risk in individual families, whereas common variants at more than 45 loci have been associated with MI risk in the population. Here we evaluate how rare mutations contribute to early-onset MI risk in the population. We sequenced the protein-coding regions of 9,793 genomes from patients with MI at an early age (<=50 years in males and <=60 years in females) along with MI-free controls. We identified two genes in which rare coding-sequence mutations were more frequent in MI cases versus controls at exome-wide significance. At low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), carriers of rare non-synonymous mutations were at 4.2-fold increased risk for MI; carriers of null alleles at LDLR were at even higher risk (13-fold difference). Approximately 2\% of early MI cases harbour a rare, damaging mutation in LDLR; this estimate is similar to one made more than 40 years ago using an analysis of total cholesterol. Among controls, about 1 in 217 carried an LDLR coding-sequence mutation and had plasma LDL cholesterol > 190~mg~dl(-1). At apolipoprotein A-V (APOA5), carriers of rare non-synonymous mutations were at 2.2-fold increased risk for MI. When compared with non-carriers, LDLR mutation carriers had higher plasma LDL cholesterol, whereas APOA5 mutation carriers had higher plasma triglycerides. Recent evidence has connected MI risk with coding-sequence mutations at two genes functionally related to APOA5, namely lipoprotein lipase and apolipoprotein C-III (refs 18, 19). Combined, these observations suggest that, as well as LDL cholesterol, disordered metabolism of triglyceride-rich lipoproteins contributes to MI risk.

}, keywords = {Age Factors, Age of Onset, Alleles, Apolipoproteins A, Case-Control Studies, Cholesterol, LDL, Coronary Artery Disease, Exome, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genetics, Population, Heterozygote, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Mutation, Myocardial Infarction, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (U.S.), Receptors, LDL, Triglycerides, United States}, issn = {1476-4687}, doi = {10.1038/nature13917}, author = {Do, Ron and Stitziel, Nathan O and Won, Hong-Hee and J{\o}rgensen, Anders Berg and Duga, Stefano and Angelica Merlini, Pier and Kiezun, Adam and Farrall, Martin and Goel, Anuj and Zuk, Or and Guella, Illaria and Asselta, Rosanna and Lange, Leslie A and Peloso, Gina M and Auer, Paul L and Girelli, Domenico and Martinelli, Nicola and Farlow, Deborah N and DePristo, Mark A and Roberts, Robert and Stewart, Alexander F R and Saleheen, Danish and Danesh, John and Epstein, Stephen E and Sivapalaratnam, Suthesh and Hovingh, G Kees and Kastelein, John J and Samani, Nilesh J and Schunkert, Heribert and Erdmann, Jeanette and Shah, Svati H and Kraus, William E and Davies, Robert and Nikpay, Majid and Johansen, Christopher T and Wang, Jian and Hegele, Robert A and Hechter, Eliana and M{\"a}rz, Winfried and Kleber, Marcus E and Huang, Jie and Johnson, Andrew D and Li, Mingyao and Burke, Greg L and Gross, Myron and Liu, Yongmei and Assimes, Themistocles L and Heiss, Gerardo and Lange, Ethan M and Folsom, Aaron R and Taylor, Herman A and Olivieri, Oliviero and Hamsten, Anders and Clarke, Robert and Reilly, Dermot F and Yin, Wu and Rivas, Manuel A and Donnelly, Peter and Rossouw, Jacques E and Psaty, Bruce M and Herrington, David M and Wilson, James G and Rich, Stephen S and Bamshad, Michael J and Tracy, Russell P and Cupples, L Adrienne and Rader, Daniel J and Reilly, Muredach P and Spertus, John A and Cresci, Sharon and Hartiala, Jaana and Tang, W H Wilson and Hazen, Stanley L and Allayee, Hooman and Reiner, Alex P and Carlson, Christopher S and Kooperberg, Charles and Jackson, Rebecca D and Boerwinkle, Eric and Lander, Eric S and Schwartz, Stephen M and Siscovick, David S and McPherson, Ruth and Tybjaerg-Hansen, Anne and Abecasis, Goncalo R and Watkins, Hugh and Nickerson, Deborah A and Ardissino, Diego and Sunyaev, Shamil R and O{\textquoteright}Donnell, Christopher J and Altshuler, David and Gabriel, Stacey and Kathiresan, Sekar} } @article {6809, title = {Plasma Levels of Soluble Interleukin-2 Receptor α: Associations With Clinical Cardiovascular Events and Genome-Wide Association Scan.}, journal = {Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol}, volume = {35}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Oct}, pages = {2246-53}, abstract = {

OBJECTIVE: Interleukin (IL) -2 receptor subunit α regulates lymphocyte activation, which plays an important role in atherosclerosis. Associations between soluble IL-2Rα (sIL-2Rα) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) have not been widely studied and little is known about the genetic determinants of sIL-2Rα levels.

APPROACH AND RESULTS: We measured baseline levels of sIL-2Rα in 4408 European American (EA) and 766 African American (AA) adults from the Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS) and examined associations with baseline CVD risk factors, subclinical CVD, and incident CVD events. We also performed a genome-wide association study for sIL-2Rα in CHS (2964 EAs and 683 AAs) and further combined CHS EA results with those from two other EA cohorts in a meta-analysis (n=4464 EAs). In age, sex- and race- adjusted models, sIL-2Rα was positively associated with current smoking, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, insulin, waist circumference, C-reactive protein, IL-6, fibrinogen, internal carotid wall thickness, all-cause mortality, CVD mortality, and incident CVD, stroke, and heart failure. When adjusted for baseline CVD risk factors and subclinical CVD, associations with all-cause mortality, CVD mortality, and heart failure remained significant in both EAs and AAs. In the EA genome-wide association study analysis, we observed 52 single-nucleotide polymorphisms in the chromosome 10p15-14 region, which contains IL2RA, IL15RA, and RMB17, that reached genome-wide significance (P<5{\texttimes}10(-8)). The most significant single-nucleotide polymorphism was rs7911500 (P=1.31{\texttimes}10(-75)). The EA meta-analysis results were highly consistent with CHS-only results. No single-nucleotide polymorphisms reached statistical significance in the AAs.

CONCLUSIONS: These results support a role for sIL-2Rα in atherosclerosis and provide evidence for multiple-associated single-nucleotide polymorphisms at chromosome 10p15-14.

}, keywords = {Adult, African Americans, Age Distribution, Aged, Cardiovascular Diseases, Cohort Studies, Coronary Artery Disease, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans, Incidence, Interleukin-2 Receptor alpha Subunit, Kaplan-Meier Estimate, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Proportional Hazards Models, Prospective Studies, Risk Assessment, Sex Distribution, Survival Analysis}, issn = {1524-4636}, doi = {10.1161/ATVBAHA.115.305289}, author = {Durda, Peter and Sabourin, Jeremy and Lange, Ethan M and Nalls, Mike A and Mychaleckyj, Josyf C and Jenny, Nancy Swords and Li, Jin and Walston, Jeremy and Harris, Tamara B and Psaty, Bruce M and Valdar, William and Liu, Yongmei and Cushman, Mary and Reiner, Alex P and Tracy, Russell P and Lange, Leslie A} }