@article {1345, title = {A phenomics-based strategy identifies loci on APOC1, BRAP, and PLCG1 associated with metabolic syndrome phenotype domains.}, journal = {PLoS Genet}, volume = {7}, year = {2011}, month = {2011 Oct}, pages = {e1002322}, abstract = {

Despite evidence of the clustering of metabolic syndrome components, current approaches for identifying unifying genetic mechanisms typically evaluate clinical categories that do not provide adequate etiological information. Here, we used data from 19,486 European American and 6,287 African American Candidate Gene Association Resource Consortium participants to identify loci associated with the clustering of metabolic phenotypes. Six phenotype domains (atherogenic dyslipidemia, vascular dysfunction, vascular inflammation, pro-thrombotic state, central obesity, and elevated plasma glucose) encompassing 19 quantitative traits were examined. Principal components analysis was used to reduce the dimension of each domain such that >55\% of the trait variance was represented within each domain. We then applied a statistically efficient and computational feasible multivariate approach that related eight principal components from the six domains to 250,000 imputed SNPs using an additive genetic model and including demographic covariates. In European Americans, we identified 606 genome-wide significant SNPs representing 19 loci. Many of these loci were associated with only one trait domain, were consistent with results in African Americans, and overlapped with published findings, for instance central obesity and FTO. However, our approach, which is applicable to any set of interval scale traits that is heritable and exhibits evidence of phenotypic clustering, identified three new loci in or near APOC1, BRAP, and PLCG1, which were associated with multiple phenotype domains. These pleiotropic loci may help characterize metabolic dysregulation and identify targets for intervention.

}, keywords = {African Americans, Apolipoprotein C-I, Blood Glucose, Dyslipidemias, European Continental Ancestry Group, Genetic Association Studies, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome, Human, Humans, Metabolic Syndrome, Obesity, Abdominal, Phenotype, Phospholipase C gamma, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Quantitative Trait, Heritable, Ubiquitin-Protein Ligases, Vascular Diseases}, issn = {1553-7404}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pgen.1002322}, author = {Avery, Christy L and He, Qianchuan and North, Kari E and Ambite, Jos{\'e} L and Boerwinkle, Eric and Fornage, Myriam and Hindorff, Lucia A and Kooperberg, Charles and Meigs, James B and Pankow, James S and Pendergrass, Sarah A and Psaty, Bruce M and Ritchie, Marylyn D and Rotter, Jerome I and Taylor, Kent D and Wilkens, Lynne R and Heiss, Gerardo and Lin, Dan Yu} } @article {6083, title = {Fine-mapping and initial characterization of QT interval loci in African Americans.}, journal = {PLoS Genet}, volume = {8}, year = {2012}, month = {2012}, pages = {e1002870}, abstract = {

The QT interval (QT) is heritable and its prolongation is a risk factor for ventricular tachyarrhythmias and sudden death. Most genetic studies of QT have examined European ancestral populations; however, the increased genetic diversity in African Americans provides opportunities to narrow association signals and identify population-specific variants. We therefore evaluated 6,670 SNPs spanning eleven previously identified QT loci in 8,644 African American participants from two Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) studies: the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities study and Women{\textquoteright}s Health Initiative Clinical Trial. Of the fifteen known independent QT variants at the eleven previously identified loci, six were significantly associated with QT in African American populations (P<=1.20{\texttimes}10(-4)): ATP1B1, PLN1, KCNQ1, NDRG4, and two NOS1AP independent signals. We also identified three population-specific signals significantly associated with QT in African Americans (P<=1.37{\texttimes}10(-5)): one at NOS1AP and two at ATP1B1. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns in African Americans assisted in narrowing the region likely to contain the functional variants for several loci. For example, African American LD patterns showed that 0 SNPs were in LD with NOS1AP signal rs12143842, compared with European LD patterns that indicated 87 SNPs, which spanned 114.2 Kb, were in LD with rs12143842. Finally, bioinformatic-based characterization of the nine African American signals pointed to functional candidates located exclusively within non-coding regions, including predicted binding sites for transcription factors such as TBX5, which has been implicated in cardiac structure and conductance. In this detailed evaluation of QT loci, we identified several African Americans SNPs that better define the association with QT and successfully narrowed intervals surrounding established loci. These results demonstrate that the same loci influence variation in QT across multiple populations, that novel signals exist in African Americans, and that the SNPs identified as strong candidates for functional evaluation implicate gene regulatory dysfunction in QT prolongation.

}, keywords = {African Americans, Aged, Computational Biology, Electrocardiography, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Genetic Predisposition to Disease, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans, Linkage Disequilibrium, Male, Metagenomics, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Quantitative Trait Loci, Quantitative Trait, Heritable, Risk Factors, Tachycardia, United States}, issn = {1553-7404}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pgen.1002870}, author = {Avery, Christy L and Sethupathy, Praveen and Buyske, Steven and He, Qianchuan and Lin, Dan-Yu and Arking, Dan E and Carty, Cara L and Duggan, David and Fesinmeyer, Megan D and Hindorff, Lucia A and Jeff, Janina M and Klein, Liviu and Patton, Kristen K and Peters, Ulrike and Shohet, Ralph V and Sotoodehnia, Nona and Young, Alicia M and Kooperberg, Charles and Haiman, Christopher A and Mohlke, Karen L and Whitsel, Eric A and North, Kari E} } @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 {6084, title = {Novel loci associated with PR interval in a genome-wide association study of 10 African American cohorts.}, journal = {Circ Cardiovasc Genet}, volume = {5}, year = {2012}, month = {2012 Dec}, pages = {639-46}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: The PR interval, as measured by the resting, standard 12-lead ECG, reflects the duration of atrial/atrioventricular nodal depolarization. Substantial evidence exists for a genetic contribution to PR, including genome-wide association studies that have identified common genetic variants at 9 loci influencing PR in populations of European and Asian descent. However, few studies have examined loci associated with PR in African Americans.

METHODS AND RESULTS: We present results from the largest genome-wide association study to date of PR in 13 415 adults of African descent from 10 cohorts. We tested for association between PR (ms) and ≈2.8 million genotyped and imputed single-nucleotide polymorphisms. Imputation was performed using HapMap 2 YRI and CEU panels. Study-specific results, adjusted for global ancestry and clinical correlates of PR, were meta-analyzed using the inverse variance method. Variation in genome-wide test statistic distributions was noted within studies (λ range: 0.9-1.1), although not after genomic control correction was applied to the overall meta-analysis (λ: 1.008). In addition to generalizing previously reported associations with MEIS1, SCN5A, ARHGAP24, CAV1, and TBX5 to African American populations at the genome-wide significance level (P<5.0 {\texttimes} 10(-8)), we also identified a novel locus: ITGA9, located in a region previously implicated in SCN5A expression. The 3p21 region harboring SCN5A also contained 2 additional independent secondary signals influencing PR (P<5.0 {\texttimes} 10(-8)).

CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates the ability to map novel loci in African Americans as well as the generalizability of loci associated with PR across populations of African, European, and Asian descent.

}, keywords = {Adult, African Americans, Cohort Studies, Electrocardiography, Female, Genetic Loci, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans, Male, Meta-Analysis as Topic, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide}, issn = {1942-3268}, doi = {10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.112.963991}, author = {Butler, Anne M and Yin, Xiaoyan and Evans, Daniel S and Nalls, Michael A and Smith, Erin N and Tanaka, Toshiko and Li, Guo and Buxbaum, Sarah G and Whitsel, Eric A and Alonso, Alvaro and Arking, Dan E and Benjamin, Emelia J and Berenson, Gerald S and Bis, Josh C and Chen, Wei and Deo, Rajat and Ellinor, Patrick T and Heckbert, Susan R and Heiss, Gerardo and Hsueh, Wen-Chi and Keating, Brendan J and Kerr, Kathleen F and Li, Yun and Limacher, Marian C and Liu, Yongmei and Lubitz, Steven A and Marciante, Kristin D and Mehra, Reena and Meng, Yan A and Newman, Anne B and Newton-Cheh, Christopher and North, Kari E and Palmer, Cameron D and Psaty, Bruce M and Quibrera, P Miguel and Redline, Susan and Reiner, Alex P and Rotter, Jerome I and Schnabel, Renate B and Schork, Nicholas J and Singleton, Andrew B and Smith, J Gustav and Soliman, Elsayed Z and Srinivasan, Sathanur R and Zhang, Zhu-Ming and Zonderman, Alan B and Ferrucci, Luigi and Murray, Sarah S and Evans, Michele K and Sotoodehnia, Nona and Magnani, Jared W and Avery, Christy L} } @article {6875, title = {Drug-Gene Interactions of Antihypertensive Medications and Risk of Incident Cardiovascular Disease: A Pharmacogenomics Study from the CHARGE Consortium.}, journal = {PLoS One}, volume = {10}, year = {2015}, month = {2015}, pages = {e0140496}, abstract = {

BACKGROUND: Hypertension is a major risk factor for a spectrum of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), including myocardial infarction, sudden death, and stroke. In the US, over 65 million people have high blood pressure and a large proportion of these individuals are prescribed antihypertensive medications. Although large long-term clinical trials conducted in the last several decades have identified a number of effective antihypertensive treatments that reduce the risk of future clinical complications, responses to therapy and protection from cardiovascular events vary among individuals.

METHODS: Using a genome-wide association study among 21,267 participants with pharmaceutically treated hypertension, we explored the hypothesis that genetic variants might influence or modify the effectiveness of common antihypertensive therapies on the risk of major cardiovascular outcomes. The classes of drug treatments included angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors, beta-blockers, calcium channel blockers, and diuretics. In the setting of the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium, each study performed array-based genome-wide genotyping, imputed to HapMap Phase II reference panels, and used additive genetic models in proportional hazards or logistic regression models to evaluate drug-gene interactions for each of four therapeutic drug classes. We used meta-analysis to combine study-specific interaction estimates for approximately 2 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in a discovery analysis among 15,375 European Ancestry participants (3,527 CVD cases) with targeted follow-up in a case-only study of 1,751 European Ancestry GenHAT participants as well as among 4,141 African-Americans (1,267 CVD cases).

RESULTS: Although drug-SNP interactions were biologically plausible, exposures and outcomes were well measured, and power was sufficient to detect modest interactions, we did not identify any statistically significant interactions from the four antihypertensive therapy meta-analyses (Pinteraction > 5.0{\texttimes}10-8). Similarly, findings were null for meta-analyses restricted to 66 SNPs with significant main effects on coronary artery disease or blood pressure from large published genome-wide association studies (Pinteraction >= 0.01). Our results suggest that there are no major pharmacogenetic influences of common SNPs on the relationship between blood pressure medications and the risk of incident CVD.

}, keywords = {African Americans, Aged, Antihypertensive Agents, Cardiovascular Diseases, European Continental Ancestry Group, Female, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans, Hypertension, Incidence, Male, Middle Aged, Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide, Treatment Outcome}, issn = {1932-6203}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0140496}, author = {Bis, Joshua C and Sitlani, Colleen and Irvin, Ryan and Avery, Christy L and Smith, Albert Vernon and Sun, Fangui and Evans, Daniel S and Musani, Solomon K and Li, Xiaohui and Trompet, Stella and Krijthe, Bouwe P and Harris, Tamara B and Quibrera, P Miguel and Brody, Jennifer A and Demissie, Serkalem and Davis, Barry R and Wiggins, Kerri L and Tranah, Gregory J and Lange, Leslie A and Sotoodehnia, Nona and Stott, David J and Franco, Oscar H and Launer, Lenore J and St{\"u}rmer, Til and Taylor, Kent D and Cupples, L Adrienne and Eckfeldt, John H and Smith, Nicholas L and Liu, Yongmei and Wilson, James G and Heckbert, Susan R and Buckley, Brendan M and Ikram, M Arfan and Boerwinkle, Eric and Chen, Yii-Der Ida and de Craen, Anton J M and Uitterlinden, Andr{\'e} G and Rotter, Jerome I and Ford, Ian and Hofman, Albert and Sattar, Naveed and Slagboom, P Eline and Westendorp, Rudi G J and Gudnason, Vilmundur and Vasan, Ramachandran S and Lumley, Thomas and Cummings, Steven R and Taylor, Herman A and Post, Wendy and Jukema, J Wouter and Stricker, Bruno H and Whitsel, Eric A and Psaty, Bruce M and Arnett, Donna} }