TY - JOUR T1 - 52 Genetic Loci Influencing Myocardial Mass. JF - J Am Coll Cardiol Y1 - 2016 A1 - van der Harst, Pim A1 - van Setten, Jessica A1 - Verweij, Niek A1 - Vogler, Georg A1 - Franke, Lude A1 - Maurano, Matthew T A1 - Wang, Xinchen A1 - Mateo Leach, Irene A1 - Eijgelsheim, Mark A1 - Sotoodehnia, Nona A1 - Hayward, Caroline A1 - Sorice, Rossella A1 - Meirelles, Osorio A1 - Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka A1 - Polasek, Ozren A1 - Tanaka, Toshiko A1 - Arking, Dan E A1 - Ulivi, Sheila A1 - Trompet, Stella A1 - Müller-Nurasyid, Martina A1 - Smith, Albert V A1 - Dörr, Marcus A1 - Kerr, Kathleen F A1 - Magnani, Jared W A1 - del Greco M, Fabiola A1 - Zhang, Weihua A1 - Nolte, Ilja M A1 - Silva, Claudia T A1 - Padmanabhan, Sandosh A1 - Tragante, Vinicius A1 - Esko, Tõnu A1 - Abecasis, Goncalo R A1 - Adriaens, Michiel E A1 - Andersen, Karl A1 - Barnett, Phil A1 - Bis, Joshua C A1 - Bodmer, Rolf A1 - Buckley, Brendan M A1 - Campbell, Harry A1 - Cannon, Megan V A1 - Chakravarti, Aravinda A1 - Chen, Lin Y A1 - Delitala, Alessandro A1 - Devereux, Richard B A1 - Doevendans, Pieter A A1 - Dominiczak, Anna F A1 - Ferrucci, Luigi A1 - Ford, Ian A1 - Gieger, Christian A1 - Harris, Tamara B A1 - Haugen, Eric A1 - Heinig, Matthias A1 - Hernandez, Dena G A1 - Hillege, Hans L A1 - Hirschhorn, Joel N A1 - Hofman, Albert A1 - Hubner, Norbert A1 - Hwang, Shih-Jen A1 - Iorio, Annamaria A1 - Kähönen, Mika A1 - Kellis, Manolis A1 - Kolcic, Ivana A1 - Kooner, Ishminder K A1 - Kooner, Jaspal S A1 - Kors, Jan A A1 - Lakatta, Edward G A1 - Lage, Kasper A1 - Launer, Lenore J A1 - Levy, Daniel A1 - Lundby, Alicia A1 - Macfarlane, Peter W A1 - May, Dalit A1 - Meitinger, Thomas A1 - Metspalu, Andres A1 - Nappo, Stefania A1 - Naitza, Silvia A1 - Neph, Shane A1 - Nord, Alex S A1 - Nutile, Teresa A1 - Okin, Peter M A1 - Olsen, Jesper V A1 - Oostra, Ben A A1 - Penninger, Josef M A1 - Pennacchio, Len A A1 - Pers, Tune H A1 - Perz, Siegfried A1 - Peters, Annette A1 - Pinto, Yigal M A1 - Pfeufer, Arne A1 - Pilia, Maria Grazia A1 - Pramstaller, Peter P A1 - Prins, Bram P A1 - Raitakari, Olli T A1 - Raychaudhuri, Soumya A1 - Rice, Ken M A1 - Rossin, Elizabeth J A1 - Rotter, Jerome I A1 - Schafer, Sebastian A1 - Schlessinger, David A1 - Schmidt, Carsten O A1 - Sehmi, Jobanpreet A1 - Silljé, Herman H W A1 - Sinagra, Gianfranco A1 - Sinner, Moritz F A1 - Slowikowski, Kamil A1 - Soliman, Elsayed Z A1 - Spector, Timothy D A1 - Spiering, Wilko A1 - Stamatoyannopoulos, John A A1 - Stolk, Ronald P A1 - Strauch, Konstantin A1 - Tan, Sian-Tsung A1 - Tarasov, Kirill V A1 - Trinh, Bosco A1 - Uitterlinden, André G A1 - van den Boogaard, Malou A1 - van Duijn, Cornelia M A1 - van Gilst, Wiek H A1 - Viikari, Jorma S A1 - Visscher, Peter M A1 - Vitart, Veronique A1 - Völker, Uwe A1 - Waldenberger, Melanie A1 - Weichenberger, Christian X A1 - Westra, Harm-Jan A1 - Wijmenga, Cisca A1 - Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H A1 - Yang, Jian A1 - Bezzina, Connie R A1 - Munroe, Patricia B A1 - Snieder, Harold A1 - Wright, Alan F A1 - Rudan, Igor A1 - Boyer, Laurie A A1 - Asselbergs, Folkert W A1 - van Veldhuisen, Dirk J A1 - Stricker, Bruno H A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Ciullo, Marina A1 - Sanna, Serena A1 - Lehtimäki, Terho A1 - Wilson, James F A1 - Bandinelli, Stefania A1 - Alonso, Alvaro A1 - Gasparini, Paolo A1 - Jukema, J Wouter A1 - Kääb, Stefan A1 - Gudnason, Vilmundur A1 - Felix, Stephan B A1 - Heckbert, Susan R A1 - de Boer, Rudolf A A1 - Newton-Cheh, Christopher A1 - Hicks, Andrew A A1 - Chambers, John C A1 - Jamshidi, Yalda A1 - Visel, Axel A1 - Christoffels, Vincent M A1 - Isaacs, Aaron A1 - Samani, Nilesh J A1 - de Bakker, Paul I W AB -
BACKGROUND: Myocardial mass is a key determinant of cardiac muscle function and hypertrophy. Myocardial depolarization leading to cardiac muscle contraction is reflected by the amplitude and duration of the QRS complex on the electrocardiogram (ECG). Abnormal QRS amplitude or duration reflect changes in myocardial mass and conduction, and are associated with increased risk of heart failure and death.
OBJECTIVES: This meta-analysis sought to gain insights into the genetic determinants of myocardial mass.
METHODS: We carried out a genome-wide association meta-analysis of 4 QRS traits in up to 73,518 individuals of European ancestry, followed by extensive biological and functional assessment.
RESULTS: We identified 52 genomic loci, of which 32 are novel, that are reliably associated with 1 or more QRS phenotypes at p < 1 × 10(-8). These loci are enriched in regions of open chromatin, histone modifications, and transcription factor binding, suggesting that they represent regions of the genome that are actively transcribed in the human heart. Pathway analyses provided evidence that these loci play a role in cardiac hypertrophy. We further highlighted 67 candidate genes at the identified loci that are preferentially expressed in cardiac tissue and associated with cardiac abnormalities in Drosophila melanogaster and Mus musculus. We validated the regulatory function of a novel variant in the SCN5A/SCN10A locus in vitro and in vivo.
CONCLUSIONS: Taken together, our findings provide new insights into genes and biological pathways controlling myocardial mass and may help identify novel therapeutic targets.
VL - 68 IS - 13 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Multiethnic Exome-Wide Association Study of Subclinical Atherosclerosis. JF - Circ Cardiovasc Genet Y1 - 2016 A1 - Natarajan, Pradeep A1 - Bis, Joshua C A1 - Bielak, Lawrence F A1 - Cox, Amanda J A1 - Dörr, Marcus A1 - Feitosa, Mary F A1 - Franceschini, Nora A1 - Guo, Xiuqing A1 - Hwang, Shih-Jen A1 - Isaacs, Aaron A1 - Jhun, Min A A1 - Kavousi, Maryam A1 - Li-Gao, Ruifang A1 - Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka A1 - Marioni, Riccardo E A1 - Schminke, Ulf A1 - Stitziel, Nathan O A1 - Tada, Hayato A1 - van Setten, Jessica A1 - Smith, Albert V A1 - Vojinovic, Dina A1 - Yanek, Lisa R A1 - Yao, Jie A1 - Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M A1 - Amin, Najaf A1 - Baber, Usman A1 - Borecki, Ingrid B A1 - Carr, J Jeffrey A1 - Chen, Yii-Der Ida A1 - Cupples, L Adrienne A1 - de Jong, Pim A A1 - de Koning, Harry A1 - de Vos, Bob D A1 - Demirkan, Ayse A1 - Fuster, Valentin A1 - Franco, Oscar H A1 - Goodarzi, Mark O A1 - Harris, Tamara B A1 - Heckbert, Susan R A1 - Heiss, Gerardo A1 - Hoffmann, Udo A1 - Hofman, Albert A1 - Išgum, Ivana A1 - Jukema, J Wouter A1 - Kähönen, Mika A1 - Kardia, Sharon L R A1 - Kral, Brian G A1 - Launer, Lenore J A1 - Massaro, Joseph A1 - Mehran, Roxana A1 - Mitchell, Braxton D A1 - Mosley, Thomas H A1 - de Mutsert, Renée A1 - Newman, Anne B A1 - Nguyen, Khanh-Dung A1 - North, Kari E A1 - O'Connell, Jeffrey R A1 - Oudkerk, Matthijs A1 - Pankow, James S A1 - Peloso, Gina M A1 - Post, Wendy A1 - Province, Michael A A1 - Raffield, Laura M A1 - Raitakari, Olli T A1 - Reilly, Dermot F A1 - Rivadeneira, Fernando A1 - Rosendaal, Frits A1 - Sartori, Samantha A1 - Taylor, Kent D A1 - Teumer, Alexander A1 - Trompet, Stella A1 - Turner, Stephen T A1 - Uitterlinden, André G A1 - Vaidya, Dhananjay A1 - van der Lugt, Aad A1 - Völker, Uwe A1 - Wardlaw, Joanna M A1 - Wassel, Christina L A1 - Weiss, Stefan A1 - Wojczynski, Mary K A1 - Becker, Diane M A1 - Becker, Lewis C A1 - Boerwinkle, Eric A1 - Bowden, Donald W A1 - Deary, Ian J A1 - Dehghan, Abbas A1 - Felix, Stephan B A1 - Gudnason, Vilmundur A1 - Lehtimäki, Terho A1 - Mathias, Rasika A1 - Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Rader, Daniel J A1 - Rotter, Jerome I A1 - Wilson, James G A1 - van Duijn, Cornelia M A1 - Völzke, Henry A1 - Kathiresan, Sekar A1 - Peyser, Patricia A A1 - O'Donnell, Christopher J AB -BACKGROUND: -The burden of subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic individuals is heritable and associated with elevated risk of developing clinical coronary heart disease (CHD). We sought to identify genetic variants in protein-coding regions associated with subclinical atherosclerosis and the risk of subsequent CHD.
METHODS AND RESULTS: -We studied a total of 25,109 European ancestry and African-American participants with coronary artery calcification (CAC) measured by cardiac computed tomography and 52,869 with common carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) measured by ultrasonography within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium. Participants were genotyped for 247,870 DNA sequence variants (231,539 in exons) across the genome. A meta-analysis of exome-wide association studies was performed across cohorts for CAC and CIMT. APOB p.Arg3527Gln was associated with four-fold excess CAC (P = 3×10(-10)). The APOE ε2 allele (p.Arg176Cys) was associated with both 22.3% reduced CAC (P = 1×10(-12)) and 1.4% reduced CIMT (P = 4×10(-14)) in carriers compared with non-carriers. In secondary analyses conditioning on LDL cholesterol concentration, the ε2 protective association with CAC, although attenuated, remained strongly significant. Additionally, the presence of ε2 was associated with reduced risk for CHD (OR 0.77; P = 1×10(-11)).
CONCLUSIONS: -Exome-wide association meta-analysis demonstrates that protein-coding variants in APOB and APOE associate with subclinical atherosclerosis. APOE ε2 represents the first significant association for multiple subclinical atherosclerosis traits across multiple ethnicities as well as clinical CHD.
ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Discovery of novel heart rate-associated loci using the Exome Chip. JF - Hum Mol Genet Y1 - 2017 A1 - van den Berg, Marten E A1 - Warren, Helen R A1 - Cabrera, Claudia P A1 - Verweij, Niek A1 - Mifsud, Borbala A1 - Haessler, Jeffrey A1 - Bihlmeyer, Nathan A A1 - Fu, Yi-Ping A1 - Weiss, Stefan A1 - Lin, Henry J A1 - Grarup, Niels A1 - Li-Gao, Ruifang A1 - Pistis, Giorgio A1 - Shah, Nabi A1 - Brody, Jennifer A A1 - Müller-Nurasyid, Martina A1 - Lin, Honghuang A1 - Mei, Hao A1 - Smith, Albert V A1 - Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka A1 - Hall, Leanne M A1 - van Setten, Jessica A1 - Trompet, Stella A1 - Prins, Bram P A1 - Isaacs, Aaron A1 - Radmanesh, Farid A1 - Marten, Jonathan A1 - Entwistle, Aiman A1 - Kors, Jan A A1 - Silva, Claudia T A1 - Alonso, Alvaro A1 - Bis, Joshua C A1 - de Boer, Rudolf A1 - de Haan, Hugoline G A1 - de Mutsert, Renée A1 - Dedoussis, George A1 - Dominiczak, Anna F A1 - Doney, Alex S F A1 - Ellinor, Patrick T A1 - Eppinga, Ruben N A1 - Felix, Stephan B A1 - Guo, Xiuqing A1 - Hagemeijer, Yanick A1 - Hansen, Torben A1 - Harris, Tamara B A1 - Heckbert, Susan R A1 - Huang, Paul L A1 - Hwang, Shih-Jen A1 - Kähönen, Mika A1 - Kanters, Jørgen K A1 - Kolcic, Ivana A1 - Launer, Lenore J A1 - Li, Man A1 - Yao, Jie A1 - Linneberg, Allan A1 - Liu, Simin A1 - Macfarlane, Peter W A1 - Mangino, Massimo A1 - Morris, Andrew D A1 - Mulas, Antonella A1 - Murray, Alison D A1 - Nelson, Christopher P A1 - Orrù, Marco A1 - Padmanabhan, Sandosh A1 - Peters, Annette A1 - Porteous, David J A1 - Poulter, Neil A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Qi, Lihong A1 - Raitakari, Olli T A1 - Rivadeneira, Fernando A1 - Roselli, Carolina A1 - Rudan, Igor A1 - Sattar, Naveed A1 - Sever, Peter A1 - Sinner, Moritz F A1 - Soliman, Elsayed Z A1 - Spector, Timothy D A1 - Stanton, Alice V A1 - Stirrups, Kathleen E A1 - Taylor, Kent D A1 - Tobin, Martin D A1 - Uitterlinden, Andre A1 - Vaartjes, Ilonca A1 - Hoes, Arno W A1 - van der Meer, Peter A1 - Völker, Uwe A1 - Waldenberger, Melanie A1 - Xie, Zhijun A1 - Zoledziewska, Magdalena A1 - Tinker, Andrew A1 - Polasek, Ozren A1 - Rosand, Jonathan A1 - Jamshidi, Yalda A1 - van Duijn, Cornelia M A1 - Zeggini, Eleftheria A1 - Wouter Jukema, J A1 - Asselbergs, Folkert W A1 - Samani, Nilesh J A1 - Lehtimäki, Terho A1 - Gudnason, Vilmundur A1 - Wilson, James A1 - Lubitz, Steven A A1 - Kääb, Stefan A1 - Sotoodehnia, Nona A1 - Caulfield, Mark J A1 - Palmer, Colin N A A1 - Sanna, Serena A1 - Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O A1 - Deloukas, Panos A1 - Pedersen, Oluf A1 - Rotter, Jerome I A1 - Dörr, Marcus A1 - O'Donnell, Chris J A1 - Hayward, Caroline A1 - Arking, Dan E A1 - Kooperberg, Charles A1 - van der Harst, Pim A1 - Eijgelsheim, Mark A1 - Stricker, Bruno H A1 - Munroe, Patricia B AB -Background Resting heart rate is a heritable trait, and an increase in heart rate is associated with increased mortality risk. GWAS analyses have found loci associated with resting heart rate, at the time of our study these loci explained 0.9% of the variation.Aim To discover new genetic loci associated with heart rate from Exome Chip meta-analyses.Methods Heart rate was measured from either elecrtrocardiograms or pulse recordings. We meta-analysed heart rate association results from 104,452 European-ancestry individuals from 30 cohorts, genotyped using the Exome Chip. Twenty-four variants were selected for follow-up in an independent dataset (UK Biobank, N = 134,251). Conditional and gene-based testing was undertaken, and variants were investigated with bioinformatics methods.Results We discovered five novel heart rate loci, and one new independent low-frequency non-synonymous variant in an established heart rate locus (KIAA1755). Lead variants in four of the novel loci are non-synonymous variants in the genes C10orf71, DALDR3, TESK2, SEC31B. The variant at SEC31B is significantly associated with SEC31B expression in heart and tibial nerve tissue. Further candidate genes were detected from long range regulatory chromatin interactions in heart tissue (SCD, SLF2, MAPK8). We observed significant enrichment in DNase I hypersensitive sites in fetal heart and lung. Moreover, enrichment was seen for the first time in human neuronal progenitor cells (derived from embryonic stem cells) and fetal muscle samples by including our novel variants.Conclusion Our findings advance the knowledge of the genetic architecture of heart rate, and indicate new candidate genes for follow-up functional studies.
ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Genetic loci associated with heart rate variability and their effects on cardiac disease risk. JF - Nat Commun Y1 - 2017 A1 - Nolte, Ilja M A1 - Munoz, M Loretto A1 - Tragante, Vinicius A1 - Amare, Azmeraw T A1 - Jansen, Rick A1 - Vaez, Ahmad A1 - von der Heyde, Benedikt A1 - Avery, Christy L A1 - Bis, Joshua C A1 - Dierckx, Bram A1 - van Dongen, Jenny A1 - Gogarten, Stephanie M A1 - Goyette, Philippe A1 - Hernesniemi, Jussi A1 - Huikari, Ville A1 - Hwang, Shih-Jen A1 - Jaju, Deepali A1 - Kerr, Kathleen F A1 - Kluttig, Alexander A1 - Krijthe, Bouwe P A1 - Kumar, Jitender A1 - van der Laan, Sander W A1 - Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka A1 - Maihofer, Adam X A1 - Minassian, Arpi A1 - van der Most, Peter J A1 - Müller-Nurasyid, Martina A1 - Nivard, Michel A1 - Salvi, Erika A1 - Stewart, James D A1 - Thayer, Julian F A1 - Verweij, Niek A1 - Wong, Andrew A1 - Zabaneh, Delilah A1 - Zafarmand, Mohammad H A1 - Abdellaoui, Abdel A1 - Albarwani, Sulayma A1 - Albert, Christine A1 - Alonso, Alvaro A1 - Ashar, Foram A1 - Auvinen, Juha A1 - Axelsson, Tomas A1 - Baker, Dewleen G A1 - de Bakker, Paul I W A1 - Barcella, Matteo A1 - Bayoumi, Riad A1 - Bieringa, Rob J A1 - Boomsma, Dorret A1 - Boucher, Gabrielle A1 - Britton, Annie R A1 - Christophersen, Ingrid A1 - Dietrich, Andrea A1 - Ehret, George B A1 - Ellinor, Patrick T A1 - Eskola, Markku A1 - Felix, Janine F A1 - Floras, John S A1 - Franco, Oscar H A1 - Friberg, Peter A1 - Gademan, Maaike G J A1 - Geyer, Mark A A1 - Giedraitis, Vilmantas A1 - Hartman, Catharina A A1 - Hemerich, Daiane A1 - Hofman, Albert A1 - Hottenga, Jouke-Jan A1 - Huikuri, Heikki A1 - Hutri-Kähönen, Nina A1 - Jouven, Xavier A1 - Junttila, Juhani A1 - Juonala, Markus A1 - Kiviniemi, Antti M A1 - Kors, Jan A A1 - Kumari, Meena A1 - Kuznetsova, Tatiana A1 - Laurie, Cathy C A1 - Lefrandt, Joop D A1 - Li, Yong A1 - Li, Yun A1 - Liao, Duanping A1 - Limacher, Marian C A1 - Lin, Henry J A1 - Lindgren, Cecilia M A1 - Lubitz, Steven A A1 - Mahajan, Anubha A1 - McKnight, Barbara A1 - Zu Schwabedissen, Henriette Meyer A1 - Milaneschi, Yuri A1 - Mononen, Nina A1 - Morris, Andrew P A1 - Nalls, Mike A A1 - Navis, Gerjan A1 - Neijts, Melanie A1 - Nikus, Kjell A1 - North, Kari E A1 - O'Connor, Daniel T A1 - Ormel, Johan A1 - Perz, Siegfried A1 - Peters, Annette A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Raitakari, Olli T A1 - Risbrough, Victoria B A1 - Sinner, Moritz F A1 - Siscovick, David A1 - Smit, Johannes H A1 - Smith, Nicholas L A1 - Soliman, Elsayed Z A1 - Sotoodehnia, Nona A1 - Staessen, Jan A A1 - Stein, Phyllis K A1 - Stilp, Adrienne M A1 - Stolarz-Skrzypek, Katarzyna A1 - Strauch, Konstantin A1 - Sundström, Johan A1 - Swenne, Cees A A1 - Syvänen, Ann-Christine A1 - Tardif, Jean-Claude A1 - Taylor, Kent D A1 - Teumer, Alexander A1 - Thornton, Timothy A A1 - Tinker, Lesley E A1 - Uitterlinden, André G A1 - van Setten, Jessica A1 - Voss, Andreas A1 - Waldenberger, Melanie A1 - Wilhelmsen, Kirk C A1 - Willemsen, Gonneke A1 - Wong, Quenna A1 - Zhang, Zhu-Ming A1 - Zonderman, Alan B A1 - Cusi, Daniele A1 - Evans, Michele K A1 - Greiser, Halina K A1 - van der Harst, Pim A1 - Hassan, Mohammad A1 - Ingelsson, Erik A1 - Jarvelin, Marjo-Riitta A1 - Kääb, Stefan A1 - Kähönen, Mika A1 - Kivimaki, Mika A1 - Kooperberg, Charles A1 - Kuh, Diana A1 - Lehtimäki, Terho A1 - Lind, Lars A1 - Nievergelt, Caroline M A1 - O'Donnell, Chris J A1 - Oldehinkel, Albertine J A1 - Penninx, Brenda A1 - Reiner, Alexander P A1 - Riese, Harriëtte A1 - van Roon, Arie M A1 - Rioux, John D A1 - Rotter, Jerome I A1 - Sofer, Tamar A1 - Stricker, Bruno H A1 - Tiemeier, Henning A1 - Vrijkotte, Tanja G M A1 - Asselbergs, Folkert W A1 - Brundel, Bianca J J M A1 - Heckbert, Susan R A1 - Whitsel, Eric A A1 - den Hoed, Marcel A1 - Snieder, Harold A1 - de Geus, Eco J C AB -Reduced cardiac vagal control reflected in low heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with greater risks for cardiac morbidity and mortality. In two-stage meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies for three HRV traits in up to 53,174 individuals of European ancestry, we detect 17 genome-wide significant SNPs in eight loci. HRV SNPs tag non-synonymous SNPs (in NDUFA11 and KIAA1755), expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) (influencing GNG11, RGS6 and NEO1), or are located in genes preferentially expressed in the sinoatrial node (GNG11, RGS6 and HCN4). Genetic risk scores account for 0.9 to 2.6% of the HRV variance. Significant genetic correlation is found for HRV with heart rate (-0.74 BACKGROUND: Electrical conduction from the cardiac sinoatrial node to the ventricles is critical for normal heart function. Genome-wide association studies have identified more than a dozen common genetic loci that are associated with PR interval. However, it is unclear whether rare and low-frequency variants also contribute to PR interval heritability. METHODS: We performed large-scale meta-analyses of the PR interval that included 83 367 participants of European ancestry and 9436 of African ancestry. We examined both common and rare variants associated with the PR interval. RESULTS: We identified 31 genetic loci that were significantly associated with PR interval after Bonferroni correction (<1.2×10), including 11 novel loci that have not been reported previously. Many of these loci are involved in heart morphogenesis. In gene-based analysis, we found that multiple rare variants at (=5.9×10) and (=1.1×10) were associated with PR interval. locus also was implicated in the common variant analysis, whereas was a novel locus. CONCLUSIONS: We identified common variants at 11 novel loci and rare variants within 2 gene regions that were significantly associated with PR interval. Our findings provide novel insights to the current understanding of atrioventricular conduction, which is critical for cardiac activity and an important determinant of health. BACKGROUND: Genome-wide association studies conducted on QRS duration, an electrocardiographic measurement associated with heart failure and sudden cardiac death, have led to novel biological insights into cardiac function. However, the variants identified fall predominantly in non-coding regions and their underlying mechanisms remain unclear. RESULTS: Here, we identify putative functional coding variation associated with changes in the QRS interval duration by combining Illumina HumanExome BeadChip genotype data from 77,898 participants of European ancestry and 7695 of African descent in our discovery cohort, followed by replication in 111,874 individuals of European ancestry from the UK Biobank and deCODE cohorts. We identify ten novel loci, seven within coding regions, including ADAMTS6, significantly associated with QRS duration in gene-based analyses. ADAMTS6 encodes a secreted metalloprotease of currently unknown function. In vitro validation analysis shows that the QRS-associated variants lead to impaired ADAMTS6 secretion and loss-of function analysis in mice demonstrates a previously unappreciated role for ADAMTS6 in connexin 43 gap junction expression, which is essential for myocardial conduction. CONCLUSIONS: Our approach identifies novel coding and non-coding variants underlying ventricular depolarization and provides a possible mechanism for the ADAMTS6-associated conduction changes. BACKGROUND: QT interval, measured through a standard ECG, captures the time it takes for the cardiac ventricles to depolarize and repolarize. JT interval is the component of the QT interval that reflects ventricular repolarization alone. Prolonged QT interval has been linked to higher risk of sudden cardiac arrest. METHODS AND RESULTS: We performed an ExomeChip-wide analysis for both QT and JT intervals, including 209 449 variants, both common and rare, in 17 341 genes from the Illumina Infinium HumanExome BeadChip. We identified 10 loci that modulate QT and JT interval duration that have not been previously reported in the literature using single-variant statistical models in a meta-analysis of 95 626 individuals from 23 cohorts (comprised 83 884 European ancestry individuals, 9610 blacks, 1382 Hispanics, and 750 Asians). This brings the total number of ventricular repolarization associated loci to 45. In addition, our approach of using coding variants has highlighted the role of 17 specific genes for involvement in ventricular repolarization, 7 of which are in novel loci. CONCLUSIONS: Our analyses show a role for myocyte internal structure and interconnections in modulating QT interval duration, adding to previous known roles of potassium, sodium, and calcium ion regulation, as well as autonomic control. We anticipate that these discoveries will open new paths to the goal of making novel remedies for the prevention of lethal ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac arrest. Electrocardiographic PR interval measures atrio-ventricular depolarization and conduction, and abnormal PR interval is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation and heart block. Our genome-wide association study of over 92,000 European-descent individuals identifies 44 PR interval loci (34 novel). Examination of these loci reveals known and previously not-yet-reported biological processes involved in cardiac atrial electrical activity. Genes in these loci are over-represented in cardiac disease processes including heart block and atrial fibrillation. Variants in over half of the 44 loci were associated with atrial or blood transcript expression levels, or were in high linkage disequilibrium with missense variants. Six additional loci were identified either by meta-analysis of ~105,000 African and European-descent individuals and/or by pleiotropic analyses combining PR interval with heart rate, QRS interval, and atrial fibrillation. These findings implicate developmental pathways, and identify transcription factors, ion-channel genes, and cell-junction/cell-signaling proteins in atrio-ventricular conduction, identifying potential targets for drug development. In many species, the offspring of related parents suffer reduced reproductive success, a phenomenon known as inbreeding depression. In humans, the importance of this effect has remained unclear, partly because reproduction between close relatives is both rare and frequently associated with confounding social factors. Here, using genomic inbreeding coefficients (F) for >1.4 million individuals, we show that F is significantly associated (p < 0.0005) with apparently deleterious changes in 32 out of 100 traits analysed. These changes are associated with runs of homozygosity (ROH), but not with common variant homozygosity, suggesting that genetic variants associated with inbreeding depression are predominantly rare. The effect on fertility is striking: F equivalent to the offspring of first cousins is associated with a 55% decrease [95% CI 44-66%] in the odds of having children. Finally, the effects of F are confirmed within full-sibling pairs, where the variation in F is independent of all environmental confounding. Coronary artery calcification (CAC), a measure of subclinical atherosclerosis, predicts future symptomatic coronary artery disease (CAD). Identifying genetic risk factors for CAC may point to new therapeutic avenues for prevention. Currently, there are only four known risk loci for CAC identified from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in the general population. Here we conducted the largest multi-ancestry GWAS meta-analysis of CAC to date, which comprised 26,909 individuals of European ancestry and 8,867 individuals of African ancestry. We identified 11 independent risk loci, of which eight were new for CAC and five had not been reported for CAD. These new CAC loci are related to bone mineralization, phosphate catabolism and hormone metabolic pathways. Several new loci harbor candidate causal genes supported by multiple lines of functional evidence and are regulators of smooth muscle cell-mediated calcification ex vivo and in vitro. Together, these findings help refine the genetic architecture of CAC and extend our understanding of the biological and potential druggable pathways underlying CAC.