TY - JOUR T1 - Four novel Loci (19q13, 6q24, 12q24, and 5q14) influence the microcirculation in vivo. JF - PLoS Genet Y1 - 2010 A1 - Ikram, M Kamran A1 - Sim, Xueling A1 - Xueling, Sim A1 - Jensen, Richard A A1 - Cotch, Mary Frances A1 - Hewitt, Alex W A1 - Ikram, M Arfan A1 - Wang, Jie Jin A1 - Klein, Ronald A1 - Klein, Barbara E K A1 - Breteler, Monique M B A1 - Cheung, Ning A1 - Liew, Gerald A1 - Mitchell, Paul A1 - Uitterlinden, André G A1 - Rivadeneira, Fernando A1 - Hofman, Albert A1 - de Jong, Paulus T V M A1 - van Duijn, Cornelia M A1 - Kao, Linda A1 - Cheng, Ching-Yu A1 - Smith, Albert Vernon A1 - Glazer, Nicole L A1 - Lumley, Thomas A1 - McKnight, Barbara A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Jonasson, Fridbert A1 - Eiriksdottir, Gudny A1 - Aspelund, Thor A1 - Harris, Tamara B A1 - Launer, Lenore J A1 - Taylor, Kent D A1 - Li, Xiaohui A1 - Iyengar, Sudha K A1 - Xi, Quansheng A1 - Sivakumaran, Theru A A1 - Mackey, David A A1 - Macgregor, Stuart A1 - Martin, Nicholas G A1 - Young, Terri L A1 - Bis, Josh C A1 - Wiggins, Kerri L A1 - Heckbert, Susan R A1 - Hammond, Christopher J A1 - Andrew, Toby A1 - Fahy, Samantha A1 - Attia, John A1 - Holliday, Elizabeth G A1 - Scott, Rodney J A1 - Islam, F M Amirul A1 - Rotter, Jerome I A1 - McAuley, Annie K A1 - Boerwinkle, Eric A1 - Tai, E Shyong A1 - Gudnason, Vilmundur A1 - Siscovick, David S A1 - Vingerling, Johannes R A1 - Wong, Tien Y KW - Adolescent KW - Adult KW - Aged KW - Aged, 80 and over KW - Cardiovascular Diseases KW - Child KW - Child, Preschool KW - Chromosomes, Human, Pair 12 KW - Chromosomes, Human, Pair 19 KW - Chromosomes, Human, Pair 5 KW - Chromosomes, Human, Pair 6 KW - Cohort Studies KW - European Continental Ancestry Group KW - Female KW - Genetic Loci KW - Genome-Wide Association Study KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Meta-Analysis as Topic KW - Microcirculation KW - Middle Aged KW - Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide KW - Retinal Vessels KW - Young Adult AB -

There is increasing evidence that the microcirculation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. Changes in retinal vascular caliber reflect early microvascular disease and predict incident cardiovascular events. We performed a genome-wide association study to identify genetic variants associated with retinal vascular caliber. We analyzed data from four population-based discovery cohorts with 15,358 unrelated Caucasian individuals, who are members of the Cohort for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) consortium, and replicated findings in four independent Caucasian cohorts (n  =  6,652). All participants had retinal photography and retinal arteriolar and venular caliber measured from computer software. In the discovery cohorts, 179 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) spread across five loci were significantly associated (p<5.0×10(-8)) with retinal venular caliber, but none showed association with arteriolar caliber. Collectively, these five loci explain 1.0%-3.2% of the variation in retinal venular caliber. Four out of these five loci were confirmed in independent replication samples. In the combined analyses, the top SNPs at each locus were: rs2287921 (19q13; p  =  1.61×10(-25), within the RASIP1 locus), rs225717 (6q24; p = 1.25×10(-16), adjacent to the VTA1 and NMBR loci), rs10774625 (12q24; p  =  2.15×10(-13), in the region of ATXN2,SH2B3 and PTPN11 loci), and rs17421627 (5q14; p = 7.32×10(-16), adjacent to the MEF2C locus). In two independent samples, locus 12q24 was also associated with coronary heart disease and hypertension. Our population-based genome-wide association study demonstrates four novel loci associated with retinal venular caliber, an endophenotype of the microcirculation associated with clinical cardiovascular disease. These data provide further insights into the contribution and biological mechanisms of microcirculatory changes that underlie cardiovascular disease.

VL - 6 IS - 10 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21060863?dopt=Abstract ER -