@article {1179, title = {A meta-analysis of four genome-wide association studies of survival to age 90 years or older: the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium.}, journal = {J Gerontol A Biol Sci Med Sci}, volume = {65}, year = {2010}, month = {2010 May}, pages = {478-87}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) may yield insights into longevity.

METHODS: We performed a meta-analysis of GWAS in Caucasians from four prospective cohort studies: the Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik Study, the Cardiovascular Health Study, the Framingham Heart Study, and the Rotterdam Study participating in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium. Longevity was defined as survival to age 90 years or older (n = 1,836); the comparison group comprised cohort members who died between the ages of 55 and 80 years (n = 1,955). In a second discovery stage, additional genotyping was conducted in the Leiden Longevity Study cohort and the Danish 1905 cohort.

RESULTS: There were 273 single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) associations with p < .0001, but none reached the prespecified significance level of 5 x 10(-8). Of the most significant SNPs, 24 were independent signals, and 16 of these SNPs were successfully genotyped in the second discovery stage, with one association for rs9664222, reaching 6.77 x 10(-7) for the combined meta-analysis of CHARGE and the stage 2 cohorts. The SNP lies in a region near MINPP1 (chromosome 10), a well-conserved gene involved in regulation of cellular proliferation. The minor allele was associated with lower odds of survival past age 90 (odds ratio = 0.82). Associations of interest in a homologue of the longevity assurance gene (LASS3) and PAPPA2 were not strengthened in the second stage.

CONCLUSION: Survival studies of larger size or more extreme or specific phenotypes may support or refine these initial findings.

}, keywords = {Adult, Age Factors, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alleles, Cohort Studies, Confidence Intervals, Female, Genome-Wide Association Study, Genotype, Humans, Longevity, Male, Middle Aged, Odds Ratio, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide}, issn = {1758-535X}, doi = {10.1093/gerona/glq028}, author = {Newman, Anne B and Walter, Stefan and Lunetta, Kathryn L and Garcia, Melissa E and Slagboom, P Eline and Christensen, Kaare and Arnold, Alice M and Aspelund, Thor and Aulchenko, Yurii S and Benjamin, Emelia J and Christiansen, Lene and D{\textquoteright}Agostino, Ralph B and Fitzpatrick, Annette L and Franceschini, Nora and Glazer, Nicole L and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Hofman, Albert and Kaplan, Robert and Karasik, David and Kelly-Hayes, Margaret and Kiel, Douglas P and Launer, Lenore J and Marciante, Kristin D and Massaro, Joseph M and Miljkovic, Iva and Nalls, Michael A and Hernandez, Dena and Psaty, Bruce M and Rivadeneira, Fernando and Rotter, Jerome and Seshadri, Sudha and Smith, Albert V and Taylor, Kent D and Tiemeier, Henning and Uh, Hae-Won and Uitterlinden, Andr{\'e} G and Vaupel, James W and Walston, Jeremy and Westendorp, Rudi G J and Harris, Tamara B and Lumley, Thomas and van Duijn, Cornelia M and Murabito, Joanne M} } @article {1282, title = {Association of hypertension drug target genes with blood pressure and hypertension in 86,588 individuals.}, journal = {Hypertension}, volume = {57}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 May}, pages = {903-10}, abstract = {

We previously conducted genome-wide association meta-analysis of systolic blood pressure, diastolic blood pressure, and hypertension in 29,136 people from 6 cohort studies in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium. Here we examine associations of these traits with 30 gene regions encoding known antihypertensive drug targets. We find nominal evidence of association of ADRB1, ADRB2, AGT, CACNA1A, CACNA1C, and SLC12A3 polymorphisms with 1 or more BP traits in the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology genome-wide association meta-analysis. We attempted replication of the top meta-analysis single nucleotide polymorphisms for these genes in the Global BPgen Consortium (n=34,433) and the Women{\textquoteright}s Genome Health Study (n=23,019) and found significant results for rs1801253 in ADRB1 (Arg389Gly), with the Gly allele associated with a lower mean systolic blood pressure (β: 0.57 mm Hg; SE: 0.09 mm Hg; meta-analysis: P=4.7{\texttimes}10(-10)), diastolic blood pressure (β: 0.36 mm Hg; SE: 0.06 mm Hg; meta-analysis: P=9.5{\texttimes}10(-10)), and prevalence of hypertension (β: 0.06 mm Hg; SE: 0.02 mm Hg; meta-analysis: P=3.3{\texttimes}10(-4)). Variation in AGT (rs2004776) was associated with systolic blood pressure (β: 0.42 mm Hg; SE: 0.09 mm Hg; meta-analysis: P=3.8{\texttimes}10(-6)), as well as diastolic blood pressure (P=5.0{\texttimes}10(-8)) and hypertension (P=3.7{\texttimes}10(-7)). A polymorphism in ACE (rs4305) showed modest replication of association with increased hypertension (β: 0.06 mm Hg; SE: 0.01 mm Hg; meta-analysis: P=3.0{\texttimes}10(-5)). Two loci, ADRB1 and AGT, contain single nucleotide polymorphisms that reached a genome-wide significance threshold in meta-analysis for the first time. Our findings suggest that these genes warrant further studies of their genetic effects on blood pressure, including pharmacogenetic interactions.

}, keywords = {Alleles, Angiotensinogen, Antihypertensive Agents, Blood Pressure, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genotype, Humans, Hypertension, Male, Pharmacogenetics, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Receptors, Adrenergic, beta-1}, issn = {1524-4563}, doi = {10.1161/HYPERTENSIONAHA.110.158667}, author = {Johnson, Andrew D and Newton-Cheh, Christopher and Chasman, Daniel I and Ehret, Georg B and Johnson, Toby and Rose, Lynda and Rice, Kenneth and Verwoert, Germaine C and Launer, Lenore J and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Larson, Martin G and Chakravarti, Aravinda and Psaty, Bruce M and Caulfield, Mark and van Duijn, Cornelia M and Ridker, Paul M and Munroe, Patricia B and Levy, Daniel} } @article {1343, title = {Genetic variants of the NOTCH3 gene in the elderly and magnetic resonance imaging correlates of age-related cerebral small vessel disease.}, journal = {Brain}, volume = {134}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 Nov}, pages = {3384-97}, abstract = {

Cerebral small vessel disease-related brain lesions such as white matter lesions and lacunes are common findings of magnetic resonance imaging in the elderly. These lesions are thought to be major contributors to disability in old age, and risk factors that include age and hypertension have been established. The radiological, histopathologic and clinical phenotypes of age-related cerebral small vessel disease remarkably resemble autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leucoencephalopathy, which is caused by mutations in NOTCH3. We hypothesized that genetic variations in NOTCH3 also play a role in age-related cerebral small vessel disease. We directly sequenced all 33 exons, the promoter and 3{\textquoteright}-untranslated region of NOTCH3 in 195 participants with either coalescent white matter lesions or lacunes and compared the results to 82 randomly selected participants with no focal changes on magnetic resonance images in the Austrian Stroke Prevention Study. We detected nine common and 33 rare single nucleotide polymorphisms, of which 20 were novel. All common single nucleotide polymorphisms were genotyped in the entire cohort (n = 888), and four of them, rs1043994, rs10404382, rs10423702 and rs1043997, were associated significantly with both the presence and progression of white matter lesions. The association was confined to hypertensives, a result which we replicated in the Cohorts for Heart and Ageing Research in Genomic Epidemiology Consortium on an independent sample of 4773 stroke-free hypertensive elderly individuals of European descent (P = 0.04). The 33 rare single nucleotide polymorphisms were scattered over the NOTCH3 gene with three being located in the promoter region, 24 in exons (18 non-synonymous), three in introns and three in the 3{\textquoteright}-untranslated region. None of the single nucleotide polymorphisms affected a cysteine residue. Sorting Intolerant From Tolerant, PolyPhen2 analyses and protein structure simulation consistently predicted six of the non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms (H170R, P496L, V1183M, L1518M, D1823N and V1952M) to be functional, with four being exclusively or mainly detected in subjects with severe white matter lesions. In four individuals with rare non-synonymous single nucleotide polymorphisms, we noted anterior temporal lobe hyperintensity, hyperintensity in the external capsule, lacunar infarcts or subcortical lacunar lesions. None of the observed abnormalities were specific to cerebral autosomal dominant arteriopathy with subcortical infarcts and leucoencephalopathy. This is the first comprehensive study investigating (i) the frequency of NOTCH3 variations in community-dwelling elderly and (ii) their effect on cerebral small vessel disease related magnetic resonance imaging phenotypes. We show that the NOTCH3 gene is highly variable with both common and rare single nucleotide polymorphisms spreading across the gene, and that common variants at the NOTCH3 gene increase the risk of age-related white matter lesions in hypertensives. Additional investigations are required to explore the biological mechanisms underlying the observed association.

}, keywords = {Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Alleles, Brain, Cerebral Small Vessel Diseases, Exons, Female, Follow-Up Studies, Genetic Association Studies, Genotype, Humans, Hypertension, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Middle Aged, Phenotype, Promoter Regions, Genetic, Prospective Studies, Receptor, Notch3, Receptors, Notch}, issn = {1460-2156}, doi = {10.1093/brain/awr252}, author = {Schmidt, Helena and Zeginigg, Marion and Wiltgen, Marco and Freudenberger, Paul and Petrovic, Katja and Cavalieri, Margherita and Gider, Pierre and Enzinger, Christian and Fornage, Myriam and Debette, Stephanie and Rotter, Jerome I and Ikram, Mohammad A and Launer, Lenore J and Schmidt, Reinhold} } @article {6067, title = {Best practices and joint calling of the HumanExome BeadChip: the CHARGE Consortium.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {8}, year = {2013}, month = {2013}, pages = {e68095}, abstract = {

Genotyping arrays are a cost effective approach when typing previously-identified genetic polymorphisms in large numbers of samples. One limitation of genotyping arrays with rare variants (e.g., minor allele frequency [MAF] <0.01) is the difficulty that automated clustering algorithms have to accurately detect and assign genotype calls. Combining intensity data from large numbers of samples may increase the ability to accurately call the genotypes of rare variants. Approximately 62,000 ethnically diverse samples from eleven Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium cohorts were genotyped with the Illumina HumanExome BeadChip across seven genotyping centers. The raw data files for the samples were assembled into a single project for joint calling. To assess the quality of the joint calling, concordance of genotypes in a subset of individuals having both exome chip and exome sequence data was analyzed. After exclusion of low performing SNPs on the exome chip and non-overlap of SNPs derived from sequence data, genotypes of 185,119 variants (11,356 were monomorphic) were compared in 530 individuals that had whole exome sequence data. A total of 98,113,070 pairs of genotypes were tested and 99.77\% were concordant, 0.14\% had missing data, and 0.09\% were discordant. We report that joint calling allows the ability to accurately genotype rare variation using array technology when large sample sizes are available and best practices are followed. The cluster file from this experiment is available at www.chargeconsortium.com/main/exomechip.

}, keywords = {Aging, Alleles, Cluster Analysis, Cohort Studies, Continental Population Groups, Exome, Female, Gene Frequency, Genomics, Genotype, Heart, Humans, Male, Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Sample Size, Self Report, Sequence Analysis, DNA}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0068095}, author = {Grove, Megan L and Yu, Bing and Cochran, Barbara J and Haritunians, Talin and Bis, Joshua C and Taylor, Kent D and Hansen, Mark and Borecki, Ingrid B and Cupples, L Adrienne and Fornage, Myriam and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Harris, Tamara B and Kathiresan, Sekar and Kraaij, Robert and Launer, Lenore J and Levy, Daniel and Liu, Yongmei and Mosley, Thomas and Peloso, Gina M and Psaty, Bruce M and Rich, Stephen S and Rivadeneira, Fernando and Siscovick, David S and Smith, Albert V and Uitterlinden, Andre and van Duijn, Cornelia M and Wilson, James G and O{\textquoteright}Donnell, Christopher J and Rotter, Jerome I and Boerwinkle, Eric} } @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 {6815, title = {Association of Alzheimer{\textquoteright}s disease GWAS loci with MRI markers of brain aging.}, journal = {Neurobiol Aging}, volume = {36}, year = {2015}, month = {2015 Apr}, pages = {1765.e7-16}, abstract = {

Whether novel risk variants of Alzheimer{\textquoteright}s disease (AD) identified through genome-wide association studies also influence magnetic resonance imaging-based intermediate phenotypes of AD in the general population is unclear. We studied association of 24 AD risk loci with intracranial volume, total brain volume, hippocampal volume (HV), white matter hyperintensity burden, and brain infarcts in a meta-analysis of genetic association studies from large population-based samples (N = 8175-11,550). In single-SNP based tests, AD risk allele of APOE (rs2075650) was associated with smaller HV (p = 0.0054) and CD33 (rs3865444) with smaller intracranial volume (p = 0.0058). In gene-based tests, there was associations of HLA-DRB1 with total brain volume (p = 0.0006) and BIN1 with HV (p = 0.00089). A weighted AD genetic risk score was associated with smaller HV (beta {\textpm} SE = -0.047 {\textpm} 0.013, p = 0.00041), even after excluding the APOE locus (p = 0.029). However, only association of AD genetic risk score with HV, including APOE, was significant after multiple testing correction (including number of independent phenotypes tested). These results suggest that novel AD genetic risk variants may contribute to structural brain aging in nondemented older community persons.

}, keywords = {Aging, Alleles, Alzheimer Disease, Apolipoproteins E, Brain, Female, Genome-Wide Association Study, Hippocampus, Humans, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Organ Size, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Risk, Sialic Acid Binding Ig-like Lectin 3}, issn = {1558-1497}, doi = {10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2014.12.028}, author = {Chauhan, Ganesh and Adams, Hieab H H and Bis, Joshua C and Weinstein, Galit and Yu, Lei and T{\"o}glhofer, Anna Maria and Smith, Albert Vernon and van der Lee, Sven J and Gottesman, Rebecca F and Thomson, Russell and Wang, Jing and Yang, Qiong and Niessen, Wiro J and Lopez, Oscar L and Becker, James T and Phan, Thanh G and Beare, Richard J and Arfanakis, Konstantinos and Fleischman, Debra and Vernooij, Meike W and Mazoyer, Bernard and Schmidt, Helena and Srikanth, Velandai and Knopman, David S and Jack, Clifford R and Amouyel, Philippe and Hofman, Albert and DeCarli, Charles and Tzourio, Christophe and van Duijn, Cornelia M and Bennett, David A and Schmidt, Reinhold and Longstreth, William T and Mosley, Thomas H and Fornage, Myriam and Launer, Lenore J and Seshadri, Sudha and Ikram, M Arfan and Debette, Stephanie} }