TY - JOUR T1 - Population structure, admixture, and aging-related phenotypes in African American adults: the Cardiovascular Health Study. JF - Am J Hum Genet Y1 - 2005 A1 - Reiner, Alexander P A1 - Ziv, Elad A1 - Lind, Denise L A1 - Nievergelt, Caroline M A1 - Schork, Nicholas J A1 - Cummings, Steven R A1 - Phong, Angie A1 - Burchard, Esteban González A1 - Harris, Tamara B A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Kwok, Pui-Yan KW - African Americans KW - Aged KW - Aging KW - Algorithms KW - Cardiovascular Diseases KW - Cohort Studies KW - Female KW - Genetics, Population KW - Genotype KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Models, Genetic KW - Phenotype KW - Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide KW - Quantitative Trait Loci KW - Risk Factors KW - Socioeconomic Factors AB -

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.

VL - 76 IS - 3 U1 - https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15660291?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Association of common genetic variation in the insulin/IGF1 signaling pathway with human longevity. JF - Aging Cell Y1 - 2009 A1 - Pawlikowska, Ludmila A1 - Hu, Donglei A1 - Huntsman, Scott A1 - Sung, Andrew A1 - Chu, Catherine A1 - Chen, Justin A1 - Joyner, Alexander H A1 - Schork, Nicholas J A1 - Hsueh, Wen-Chi A1 - Reiner, Alexander P A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Atzmon, Gil A1 - Barzilai, Nir A1 - Cummings, Steven R A1 - Browner, Warren S A1 - Kwok, Pui-Yan A1 - Ziv, Elad KW - Aged KW - Aged, 80 and over KW - Female KW - Follow-Up Studies KW - Forkhead Box Protein O3 KW - Forkhead Transcription Factors KW - Genome, Human KW - Genotype KW - Humans KW - Insulin KW - Insulin-Like Growth Factor I KW - Longevity KW - Male KW - Osteoporosis KW - Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide KW - Proto-Oncogene Proteins c-akt KW - Signal Transduction AB -

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.

VL - 8 IS - 4 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19489743?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Genome-wide meta-analysis points to CTC1 and ZNF676 as genes regulating telomere homeostasis in humans. JF - Hum Mol Genet Y1 - 2012 A1 - Mangino, Massimo A1 - Hwang, Shih-Jen A1 - Spector, Timothy D A1 - Hunt, Steven C A1 - Kimura, Masayuki A1 - Fitzpatrick, Annette L A1 - Christiansen, Lene A1 - Petersen, Inge A1 - Elbers, Clara C A1 - Harris, Tamara A1 - Chen, Wei A1 - Srinivasan, Sathanur R A1 - Kark, Jeremy D A1 - Benetos, Athanase A1 - El Shamieh, Said A1 - Visvikis-Siest, Sophie A1 - Christensen, Kaare A1 - Berenson, Gerald S A1 - Valdes, Ana M A1 - Viñuela, Ana A1 - Garcia, Melissa A1 - Arnett, Donna K A1 - Broeckel, Ulrich A1 - Province, Michael A A1 - Pankow, James S A1 - Kammerer, Candace A1 - Liu, Yongmei A1 - Nalls, Michael A1 - Tishkoff, Sarah A1 - Thomas, Fridtjof A1 - Ziv, Elad A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Bis, Joshua C A1 - Rotter, Jerome I A1 - Taylor, Kent D A1 - Smith, Erin A1 - Schork, Nicholas J A1 - Levy, Daniel A1 - Aviv, Abraham KW - Genome-Wide Association Study KW - Humans KW - Kruppel-Like Transcription Factors KW - Telomere KW - Telomere Homeostasis KW - Telomere-Binding Proteins AB -

Leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with a number of common age-related diseases and is a heritable trait. Previous genome-wide association studies (GWASs) identified two loci on chromosomes 3q26.2 (TERC) and 10q24.33 (OBFC1) that are associated with the inter-individual LTL variation. We performed a meta-analysis of 9190 individuals from six independent GWAS and validated our findings in 2226 individuals from four additional studies. We confirmed previously reported associations with OBFC1 (rs9419958 P = 9.1 × 10(-11)) and with the telomerase RNA component TERC (rs1317082, P = 1.1 × 10(-8)). We also identified two novel genomic regions associated with LTL variation that map near a conserved telomere maintenance complex component 1 (CTC1; rs3027234, P = 3.6 × 10(-8)) on chromosome17p13.1 and zinc finger protein 676 (ZNF676; rs412658, P = 3.3 × 10(-8)) on 19p12. The minor allele of rs3027234 was associated with both shorter LTL and lower expression of CTC1. Our findings are consistent with the recent observations that point mutations in CTC1 cause short telomeres in both Arabidopsis and humans affected by a rare Mendelian syndrome. Overall, our results provide novel insights into the genetic architecture of inter-individual LTL variation in the general population.

VL - 21 IS - 24 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23001564?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Impact of ancestry and common genetic variants on QT interval in African Americans. JF - Circ Cardiovasc Genet Y1 - 2012 A1 - Smith, J Gustav A1 - Avery, Christy L A1 - Evans, Daniel S A1 - Nalls, Michael A A1 - Meng, Yan A A1 - Smith, Erin N A1 - Palmer, Cameron A1 - Tanaka, Toshiko A1 - Mehra, Reena A1 - Butler, Anne M A1 - Young, Taylor A1 - Buxbaum, Sarah G A1 - Kerr, Kathleen F A1 - Berenson, Gerald S A1 - Schnabel, Renate B A1 - Li, Guo A1 - Ellinor, Patrick T A1 - Magnani, Jared W A1 - Chen, Wei A1 - Bis, Joshua C A1 - Curb, J David A1 - Hsueh, Wen-Chi A1 - Rotter, Jerome I A1 - Liu, Yongmei A1 - Newman, Anne B A1 - Limacher, Marian C A1 - North, Kari E A1 - Reiner, Alexander P A1 - Quibrera, P Miguel A1 - Schork, Nicholas J A1 - Singleton, Andrew B A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Soliman, Elsayed Z A1 - Solomon, Allen J A1 - Srinivasan, Sathanur R A1 - Alonso, Alvaro A1 - Wallace, Robert A1 - Redline, Susan A1 - Zhang, Zhu-Ming A1 - Post, Wendy S A1 - Zonderman, Alan B A1 - Taylor, Herman A A1 - Murray, Sarah S A1 - Ferrucci, Luigi A1 - Arking, Dan E A1 - Evans, Michele K A1 - Fox, Ervin R A1 - Sotoodehnia, Nona A1 - Heckbert, Susan R A1 - Whitsel, Eric A A1 - Newton-Cheh, Christopher KW - Adult KW - African Americans KW - Aged KW - Electrocardiography KW - European Continental Ancestry Group KW - Female KW - Genealogy and Heraldry KW - Genetic Variation KW - Genome, Human KW - Genome-Wide Association Study KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Middle Aged KW - Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide AB -

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 × 10(-8)) were identified with SNPs at 2 loci, upstream of the genes NOS1AP (rs12143842, P=2 × 10(-15)) and ATP1B1 (rs1320976, P=2 × 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.

VL - 5 IS - 6 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23166209?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Novel loci associated with PR interval in a genome-wide association study of 10 African American cohorts. JF - Circ Cardiovasc Genet Y1 - 2012 A1 - Butler, Anne M A1 - Yin, Xiaoyan A1 - Evans, Daniel S A1 - Nalls, Michael A A1 - Smith, Erin N A1 - Tanaka, Toshiko A1 - Li, Guo A1 - Buxbaum, Sarah G A1 - Whitsel, Eric A A1 - Alonso, Alvaro A1 - Arking, Dan E A1 - Benjamin, Emelia J A1 - Berenson, Gerald S A1 - Bis, Josh C A1 - Chen, Wei A1 - Deo, Rajat A1 - Ellinor, Patrick T A1 - Heckbert, Susan R A1 - Heiss, Gerardo A1 - Hsueh, Wen-Chi A1 - Keating, Brendan J A1 - Kerr, Kathleen F A1 - Li, Yun A1 - Limacher, Marian C A1 - Liu, Yongmei A1 - Lubitz, Steven A A1 - Marciante, Kristin D A1 - Mehra, Reena A1 - Meng, Yan A A1 - Newman, Anne B A1 - Newton-Cheh, Christopher A1 - North, Kari E A1 - Palmer, Cameron D A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Quibrera, P Miguel A1 - Redline, Susan A1 - Reiner, Alex P A1 - Rotter, Jerome I A1 - Schnabel, Renate B A1 - Schork, Nicholas J A1 - Singleton, Andrew B A1 - Smith, J Gustav A1 - Soliman, Elsayed Z A1 - Srinivasan, Sathanur R A1 - Zhang, Zhu-Ming A1 - Zonderman, Alan B A1 - Ferrucci, Luigi A1 - Murray, Sarah S A1 - Evans, Michele K A1 - Sotoodehnia, Nona A1 - Magnani, Jared W A1 - Avery, Christy L KW - Adult KW - African Americans KW - Cohort Studies KW - Electrocardiography KW - Female KW - Genetic Loci KW - Genome-Wide Association Study KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Meta-Analysis as Topic KW - Middle Aged KW - Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide AB -

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 × 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 × 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.

VL - 5 IS - 6 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23139255?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Gene-centric meta-analyses for central adiposity traits in up to 57 412 individuals of European descent confirm known loci and reveal several novel associations. JF - Hum Mol Genet Y1 - 2014 A1 - Yoneyama, Sachiko A1 - Guo, Yiran A1 - Lanktree, Matthew B A1 - Barnes, Michael R A1 - Elbers, Clara C A1 - Karczewski, Konrad J A1 - Padmanabhan, Sandosh A1 - Bauer, Florianne A1 - Baumert, Jens A1 - Beitelshees, Amber A1 - Berenson, Gerald S A1 - Boer, Jolanda M A A1 - Burke, Gregory A1 - Cade, Brian A1 - Chen, Wei A1 - Cooper-Dehoff, Rhonda M A1 - Gaunt, Tom R A1 - Gieger, Christian A1 - Gong, Yan A1 - Gorski, Mathias A1 - Heard-Costa, Nancy A1 - Johnson, Toby A1 - Lamonte, Michael J A1 - McDonough, Caitrin A1 - Monda, Keri L A1 - Onland-Moret, N Charlotte A1 - Nelson, Christopher P A1 - O'Connell, Jeffrey R A1 - Ordovas, Jose A1 - Peter, Inga A1 - Peters, Annette A1 - Shaffer, Jonathan A1 - Shen, Haiqinq A1 - Smith, Erin A1 - Speilotes, Liz A1 - Thomas, Fridtjof A1 - Thorand, Barbara A1 - Monique Verschuren, W M A1 - Anand, Sonia S A1 - Dominiczak, Anna A1 - Davidson, Karina W A1 - Hegele, Robert A A1 - Heid, Iris A1 - Hofker, Marten H A1 - Huggins, Gordon S A1 - Illig, Thomas A1 - Johnson, Julie A A1 - Kirkland, Susan A1 - König, Wolfgang A1 - Langaee, Taimour Y A1 - McCaffery, Jeanne A1 - Melander, Olle A1 - Mitchell, Braxton D A1 - Munroe, Patricia A1 - Murray, Sarah S A1 - Papanicolaou, George A1 - Redline, Susan A1 - Reilly, Muredach A1 - Samani, Nilesh J A1 - Schork, Nicholas J A1 - van der Schouw, Yvonne T A1 - Shimbo, Daichi A1 - Shuldiner, Alan R A1 - Tobin, Martin D A1 - Wijmenga, Cisca A1 - Yusuf, Salim A1 - Hakonarson, Hakon A1 - Lange, Leslie A A1 - Demerath, Ellen W A1 - Fox, Caroline S A1 - North, Kari E A1 - Reiner, Alex P A1 - Keating, Brendan A1 - Taylor, Kira C KW - Adiposity KW - Adult KW - Aged KW - Aged, 80 and over KW - Body Mass Index KW - European Continental Ancestry Group KW - Female KW - Genome-Wide Association Study KW - Humans KW - Male KW - Middle Aged KW - Waist Circumference KW - Waist-Hip Ratio KW - Young Adult AB -

Waist circumference (WC) and waist-to-hip ratio (WHR) are surrogate measures of central adiposity that are associated with adverse cardiovascular events, type 2 diabetes and cancer independent of body mass index (BMI). WC and WHR are highly heritable with multiple susceptibility loci identified to date. We assessed the association between SNPs and BMI-adjusted WC and WHR and unadjusted WC in up to 57 412 individuals of European descent from 22 cohorts collaborating with the NHLBI's Candidate Gene Association Resource (CARe) project. The study population consisted of women and men aged 20-80 years. Study participants were genotyped using the ITMAT/Broad/CARE array, which includes ∼50 000 cosmopolitan tagged SNPs across ∼2100 cardiovascular-related genes. Each trait was modeled as a function of age, study site and principal components to control for population stratification, and we conducted a fixed-effects meta-analysis. No new loci for WC were observed. For WHR analyses, three novel loci were significantly associated (P < 2.4 × 10(-6)). Previously unreported rs2811337-G near TMCC1 was associated with increased WHR (β ± SE, 0.048 ± 0.008, P = 7.7 × 10(-9)) as was rs7302703-G in HOXC10 (β = 0.044 ± 0.008, P = 2.9 × 10(-7)) and rs936108-C in PEMT (β = 0.035 ± 0.007, P = 1.9 × 10(-6)). Sex-stratified analyses revealed two additional novel signals among females only, rs12076073-A in SHC1 (β = 0.10 ± 0.02, P = 1.9 × 10(-6)) and rs1037575-A in ATBDB4 (β = 0.046 ± 0.01, P = 2.2 × 10(-6)), supporting an already established sexual dimorphism of central adiposity-related genetic variants. Functional analysis using ENCODE and eQTL databases revealed that several of these loci are in regulatory regions or regions with differential expression in adipose tissue.

VL - 23 IS - 9 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24345515?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - DCAF4, a novel gene associated with leucocyte telomere length. JF - J Med Genet Y1 - 2015 A1 - Mangino, Massimo A1 - Christiansen, Lene A1 - Stone, Rivka A1 - Hunt, Steven C A1 - Horvath, Kent A1 - Eisenberg, Dan T A A1 - Kimura, Masayuki A1 - Petersen, Inge A1 - Kark, Jeremy D A1 - Herbig, Utz A1 - Reiner, Alex P A1 - Benetos, Athanase A1 - Codd, Veryan A1 - Nyholt, Dale R A1 - Sinnreich, Ronit A1 - Christensen, Kaare A1 - Nassar, Hisham A1 - Hwang, Shih-Jen A1 - Levy, Daniel A1 - Bataille, Veronique A1 - Fitzpatrick, Annette L A1 - Chen, Wei A1 - Berenson, Gerald S A1 - Samani, Nilesh J A1 - Martin, Nicholas G A1 - Tishkoff, Sarah A1 - Schork, Nicholas J A1 - Kyvik, Kirsten Ohm A1 - Dalgård, Christine A1 - Spector, Timothy D A1 - Aviv, Abraham KW - Alleles KW - Carrier Proteins KW - Gene Expression Regulation KW - Genome-Wide Association Study KW - Humans KW - Leukocytes KW - Melanoma KW - Risk Factors KW - Telomere KW - Telomere Homeostasis AB -

BACKGROUND: Leucocyte telomere length (LTL), which is fashioned by multiple genes, has been linked to a host of human diseases, including sporadic melanoma. A number of genes associated with LTL have already been identified through genome-wide association studies. The main aim of this study was to establish whether DCAF4 (DDB1 and CUL4-associated factor 4) is associated with LTL. In addition, using ingenuity pathway analysis (IPA), we examined whether LTL-associated genes in the general population might partially explain the inherently longer LTL in patients with sporadic melanoma, the risk for which is increased with ultraviolet radiation (UVR).

RESULTS: Genome-wide association (GWA) meta-analysis and de novo genotyping of 20 022 individuals revealed a novel association (p=6.4×10(-10)) between LTL and rs2535913, which lies within DCAF4. Notably, eQTL analysis showed that rs2535913 is associated with decline in DCAF4 expressions in both lymphoblastoid cells and sun-exposed skin (p=4.1×10(-3) and 2×10(-3), respectively). Moreover, IPA revealed that LTL-associated genes, derived from GWA meta-analysis (N=9190), are over-represented among genes engaged in melanoma pathways. Meeting increasingly stringent p value thresholds (p<0.05, <0.01, <0.005, <0.001) in the LTL-GWA meta-analysis, these genes were jointly over-represented for melanoma at p values ranging from 1.97×10(-169) to 3.42×10(-24).

CONCLUSIONS: We uncovered a new locus associated with LTL in the general population. We also provided preliminary findings that suggest a link of LTL through genetic mechanisms with UVR and melanoma in the general population.

VL - 52 IS - 3 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25624462?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Fine-mapping, novel loci identification, and SNP association transferability in a genome-wide association study of QRS duration in African Americans. JF - Hum Mol Genet Y1 - 2016 A1 - Evans, Daniel S A1 - Avery, Christy L A1 - Nalls, Mike A A1 - Li, Guo A1 - Barnard, John A1 - Smith, Erin N A1 - Tanaka, Toshiko A1 - Butler, Anne M A1 - Buxbaum, Sarah G A1 - Alonso, Alvaro A1 - Arking, Dan E A1 - Berenson, Gerald S A1 - Bis, Joshua C A1 - Buyske, Steven A1 - Carty, Cara L A1 - Chen, Wei A1 - Chung, Mina K A1 - Cummings, Steven R A1 - Deo, Rajat A1 - Eaton, Charles B A1 - Fox, Ervin R A1 - Heckbert, Susan R A1 - Heiss, Gerardo A1 - Hindorff, Lucia A A1 - Hsueh, Wen-Chi A1 - Isaacs, Aaron A1 - Jamshidi, Yalda A1 - Kerr, Kathleen F A1 - Liu, Felix A1 - Liu, Yongmei A1 - Lohman, Kurt K A1 - Magnani, Jared W A1 - Maher, Joseph F A1 - Mehra, Reena A1 - Meng, Yan A A1 - Musani, Solomon K A1 - Newton-Cheh, Christopher A1 - North, Kari E A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Redline, Susan A1 - Rotter, Jerome I A1 - Schnabel, Renate B A1 - Schork, Nicholas J A1 - Shohet, Ralph V A1 - Singleton, Andrew B A1 - Smith, Jonathan D A1 - Soliman, Elsayed Z A1 - Srinivasan, Sathanur R A1 - Taylor, Herman A A1 - Van Wagoner, David R A1 - Wilson, James G A1 - Young, Taylor A1 - Zhang, Zhu-Ming A1 - Zonderman, Alan B A1 - Evans, Michele K A1 - Ferrucci, Luigi A1 - Murray, Sarah S A1 - Tranah, Gregory J A1 - Whitsel, Eric A A1 - Reiner, Alex P A1 - Sotoodehnia, Nona AB -

The electrocardiographic QRS duration, a measure of ventricular depolarization and conduction, is associated with cardiovascular mortality. While single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) associated with QRS duration have been identified at 22 loci in populations of European descent, the genetic architecture of QRS duration in non-European populations is largely unknown. We therefore performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis of QRS duration in 13,031 African Americans from ten cohorts and a transethnic GWAS meta-analysis with additional results from populations of European descent. In the African American GWAS, a single genome-wide significant SNP association was identified (rs3922844, P = 4 × 10(-14)) in intron 16 of SCN5A, a voltage-gated cardiac sodium channel gene. The QRS-prolonging rs3922844 C allele was also associated with decreased SCN5A RNA expression in human atrial tissue (P = 1.1 × 10(-4)). High density genotyping revealed that the SCN5A association region in African Americans was confined to intron 16. Transethnic GWAS meta-analysis identified novel SNP associations on chromosome 18 in MYL12A (rs1662342, P = 4.9 × 10(-8)) and chromosome 1 near CD1E and SPTA1 (rs7547997, P = 7.9 × 10(-9)). The 22 QRS loci previously identified in populations of European descent were enriched for significant SNP associations with QRS duration in African Americans (P = 9.9 × 10(-7)), and index SNP associations in or near SCN5A, SCN10A, CDKN1A, NFIA, HAND1, TBX5 and SETBP1 replicated in African Americans. In summary, rs3922844 was associated with QRS duration and SCN5A expression, two novel QRS loci were identified using transethnic meta-analysis, and a significant proportion of QRS-SNP associations discovered in populations of European descent were transferable to African Americans when adequate power was achieved.

ER -