Shibu John Specialist Bioinformatic Scientist Cardiovascular Genetics department NIHR Cardiovascular Biomedical Research Unit Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Foundation Trust Room 2058, Sydney Wing, Level 2, Sydney Street, London, SW3 6NP Email : s.john@rbht.nhs.uk
Shibu John Bioinformatician Molecular Cardiology Lab MRC Clinical Sciences Centre Imperial College London Hammersmith Hospital Campus Du Cane Road, London W12 0NN United Kingdom Email: shibu.john@imperial.ac.uk
Abstract: We investigated the promoter polymorphisms of the pituitary growth hormone gene (GH1) and exon 3 deletion polymorphism
(GHRd3) in its receptor gene (GHR) in 299 angiographically proven patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and 231
asymptomatic controls enrolled in the ongoing Indian Atherosclerosis Research Study. Real time PCR based analysis of the
GHR variant showed signiï¬cant association of the GHRd3 deletion allele with CAD (OR 0.48, 95% CI: 0.30â0.76, P =
0.0014) and a dominant model of inheritance (Akaike information criterion = 482). The deletion allele showed signiï¬cant
association with high plasma HDL-c levels (P = 0.001). Sequencing of the proximal promoter region of GH1 revealed 12
novel polymorphisms and a TAGA haplotype constituted by the functional SNPs rs2005171, rs11568828, rs2005172 and
rs6171, that showed signiï¬cant association with CAD alone (adjusted OR of 3.31 (95% CI = 1.33â8.29, P = 0.011) and in
CAD patients with diabetes (P = 0.019). Mean standardized height was associated with three of the four haplotype-tagging
SNPs in the cohort (P ⤠0.03). Eleven of the 12 polymorphic promoter SNPs contributed to 14.7% of variation in height in
females in the whole dataset (P = 0.029). CAD patients with history of stroke exhibited marginally signiï¬cantly lower mean
height as compared to rest of the cohort (P < 0.006). In conclusion, genetic polymorphisms in the GHR gene and its ligand,
GH1, may modulate the risk of CAD in the Asian Indian population.
Abstract: Inflammation plays a pivotal role in all stages of atherosclerosis. Numerous inflammatory, lipid, and cytokines markers have been associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) risk but data directly comparing their predictive value are limited. Studies were carried to elucidate the role of high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP), other inflammatory as well as lipid markers and their associations. Among 1021 subjects, comprising 774 CAD affected members from Indian Atherosclerosis Research Study (IARS), plasma hsCRP levels showed strong correlation with inflammatory markers, namely, IL6 (r = .373; P = <.0001), sPLA2 (r = .544; P = <.0001) as also with fibrinogen (r = .579; P = <.0001). Levels of hsCRP were higher among subjects affected by CAD who suffered a repeat coronary event as compared to those who remained event free and subjects in the top quartile of hsCRP (>3.58âmg/L) were found to have a fourfold higher risk. In conclusion, hsCRP appears to be an independent predictor of recurrent CAD events in Asian Indian population.
Abstract: Elevated factor VII (FVII) level is a risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD). We investigated the role of R353Q polymorphism in the F7 gene in 139 Indian families with CAD, comprising of 222 affected subjects, 105 unaffected subjects and 126 affected sibling pairs. Plasma per cent FVIIc activity (FVII.c activity) differed ignificantly across R353Q genotype (P < 0.0001). Frequency of subjects with RR and QQ genotypes were higher in 4th quartile and 1st quartile of FVII.c activity, respectively (P < 0.0001). F7 R353Q SNP was able to explain up to 7% of variation in FVII.c activity by regression analysis and an additive genetic component of variance of 28.04% by heritability analysis. Quantitative trait loci analysis showed suggestive linkage evidence of F7 SNP with per cent FVII.c activity (LOD score -1.82; P = 0.002). Individuals with RR and RQ genotypes carried an OR of 2.071 (95% c.i. = 1.506-2.850) and 2.472 (95% c.i. = 1.679-3.641), espectively, towards CAD risk. There was significant correlation of FVII.c activity with lipid markers, particularly among those with RR and RQ genotype after covariate adjustment. In conclusion, the F7 R353Q SNP appears to moderately influence plasma FVII.c activity and risk of CAD in Indians.
Abstract: Inflammation plays a major role in coronary artery disease (CAD). We investigated the polymorphisms in the interleukin 6 (IL6) gene and their effect on the expression of acute-phase proteins in premature CAD in Asian Indian families. One hundred and ninety affected sibling pairs (ASPs) were genotyped for three tag single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the IL6 gene for linkage analysis. We observed suggestive logarithm of odds (LOD) score for one SNP (rs2066992) in a subset of 62 ASPs with the age at onset less than 45 years (LOD score=1.114, p=0.011 in linkage analysis; pi=0.55, p=0.008 in identity by descent; LOD score=1.06, p=0.014 in quantitative trait locus for plasma levels of high sensitivity C-reactive protein, hsCRP). This was followed by sequencing of the promoter region and haplotype analysis in 46 probands and 40 controls. Five out of the eight previously reported promoter SNPs were found to be polymorphic (rs1800797, rs1800796, rs7802307, rs7802308, rs1800795). Two novel sequence variants were also found. One promoter haplotype (GGAAG) was detected with an odds ratio (OR) of 3.676 (p=0.0017, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.68-8.045) and population attributable risk of 21.1% (95%CI: 9.2%-31.5%). The plasma levels of both hsCRP and fibrinogen exhibited significant association with these promoter SNP genotypes (p<0.001). In conclusion, IL6 gene polymorphisms appear to be important genetic factors in premature CAD, and in the regulation of key atherogenic markers in Asian Indian families.
Abstract: BACKGROUND: The APOA1-C3-A5 gene cluster plays an important role in the regulation of lipids. Asian Indians have an increased tendency for abnormal lipid levels and high risk of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD). Therefore, the present study aimed to elucidate the relationship of four single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the Apo11q cluster, namely the -75G>A, +83C>T SNPs in the APOA1 gene, the Sac1 SNP in the APOC3 gene and the S19W variant in the APOA5 gene to plasma lipids and CAD in 190 affected sibling pairs (ASPs) belonging to Asian Indian families with a strong CAD history. METHODS & RESULTS: Genotyping and lipid assays were carried out using standard protocols. Plasma lipids showed a strong heritability (h2 48% - 70%; P < 0.0001). A subset of 77 ASPs with positive sign of Logarithm of Odds (LOD) score showed significant linkage to CAD trait by multi-point analysis (LOD score 7.42, P < 0.001) and to Sac1 (LOD score 4.49) and -75G>A (LOD score 2.77) SNPs by single-point analysis (P < 0.001). There was significant proportion of mean allele sharing (pi) for the Sac1 (pi 0.59), -75G>A (pi 0.56) and +83C>T (pi 0.52) (P < 0.001) SNPs, respectively. QTL analysis showed suggestive evidence of linkage of the Sac1 SNP to Total Cholesterol (TC), High Density Lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) and Apolipoprotein B (ApoB) with LOD scores of 1.42, 1.72 and 1.19, respectively (P < 0.01). The Sac1 and -75G>A SNPs along with hypertension showed maximized correlations with TC, TG and Apo B by association analysis. CONCLUSION: The APOC3-Sac1 SNP is an important genetic variant that is associated with CAD through its interaction with plasma lipids and other standard risk factors among Asian Indians.