GWAS and colocalization analyses implicate carotid intima-media thickness and carotid plaque loci in cardiovascular outcomes.

Department of Epidemiology, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27516, USA. Department of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, University of California (UCLA), Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. Human Genetics Center, Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, School of Public Health, The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. Institute of Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London, WC1 6BT, UK. Cardiovascular Health Research Unit, Department of Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA. Laboratory of Epidemiology and Population Sciences, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Baltimore, MD, 20892, USA. Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, 93053, Germany. Department of Epidemiology, Erasmus Medical Center, Rotterdam, 3015, The Netherlands. Institute of Health Informatics, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK. Icelandic Heart Association, Kopavogur, IS-201, Iceland. University of Iceland, Reykjavik, 101, Iceland. Clinical Division of Neurogeriatrics, Department of Neurology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, 8036, Austria. Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Documentation, Medical University of Graz, Graz, 8036, Austria. Department of Epidemiology, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, 3015, The Netherlands. Department of Biostatistical Sciences, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA. Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology, , University of Leipzig, Leipzig, 04107, Germany. LIFE Research Center for Civilization Diseases, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, 04107, Germany. Univ. Bordeaux, Inserm, Bordeaux Population Health Research Center, UMR 1219, CHU Bordeaux, F-33000, Bordeaux, France. Research Centre of Applied and Preventive Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Turku, Turku, 20520, Finland. Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, The Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA. Clinical Gene Networks AB, Stockholm, 104 62, Sweden. Usher Institute of Population Health Sciences and Informatics, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9AG, UK. Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Gerontology and Geriatrics, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, 2300, RC, The Netherlands. Centre for Cognitive Ageing and Cognitive Epidemiology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK. Medical Genetics Section, Centre for Genomic and Experimental Medicine, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK. Population Sciences Branch, Division of Intramural Research, NHLBI, NIH, Framingham, MA, 01702-5827, USA. National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute's Intramural Research Program, Framingham Heart Study, Framingham, MA, 01702-5827, USA. Department of Medicine, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA. Department of Neurology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, 17475, Germany. Department of Medicine, Columbia University, New York, NY, 10032, USA. Department of Biochemistry, Maastricht Centre for Systems Biology (MaCSBio), CARIM School for Cardiovascular Diseases, Maastricht University, Maastricht, 6229, The Netherlands. Department of Epidemiology, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. Institute for Community Medicine, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, 17475, Germany. DZHK (German Center for Cardiovascular Research), partner site Greifswald, Greifswald, 17475, Germany. Center for Diabetes Research, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, 25157, USA. Menzies Health Institute Queensland, Griffith University, Southport, QLD, 4222, Australia. Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus Medical Center, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, 3015, The Netherlands. MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing at UCL, London, WC1E 6BT, UK. Department of Medicine, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, 2300, The Netherlands. Department of Epidemiology, and School of Medicine, Division of Geriatric Medicine, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, 15213, USA. Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK. Department of Pathophysiology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translation Medicine, University of Tartu, Biomeedikum, Tartu, 51010, Estonia. Department of Cardiac Surgery, Tartu University Hospital, Tartu, 51010, Estonia. Cardiovascular Medicine Unit, Department of Medicine Solna, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, 17177, Sweden. Department of Cell and Molecular Biology, National Bioinformatics Infrastructure Sweden, Science for Life Laboratory, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 75108, Sweden. Department of Clinical Sciences in Malmö, Lund University, Malmö, SE-205 02, Sweden. Department of Human Genetics, University of California (UCLA), Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA. Department of Psychiatry, EMGO Institute for Health and Care Research and Neuroscience Campus Amsterdam, VU University Medical Center, Amsterdam, 1081, HL, The Netherlands. Applied Sciences, Premier, Inc., Charlotte, NC, 28277, USA. Department of Medicine, University of Verona, Verona, 37134, Italy. Department of Medical Biotechnology and Translational Medicine, Università di Milano, Milan, 20133, Italy. Centro Cardiologico Monzino, IRCCS, Milan, 20138, Italy. St. Elizabeth's Medical Center, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02135, USA. Institute of Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Munich, LMU Munich, 80539, Germany. Dipartimento di Scienze Farmacologiche e Biomolecolari, Università di Milano, Milan, 20133, Italy. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Internal Medicine, Angiology and Arteriosclerosis Diseases, University of Perugia, Perugia, 06123, Italy. Centro Diagnostico Italiano, Milan, 20147, Italy. Human Genome Sequencing Center, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX, 77030-3411, USA. Department of Medicine, Division of Cardiovascular Medicine, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, 94309, USA. Department of Medical Sciences, Molecular Epidemiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 75185, Sweden. Stanford Cardiovascular Institute, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, G1120, USA. Heart Center Leipzig, Leipzig, 04103, Germany. Centre for Brain Research, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore, 560012, India. Stroke Research Group, Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 0QQ, UK. Department of Psychology, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH8 9JZ, UK. Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, 2300, RC, The Netherlands. Department of Internal Medicine, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, 6525, GA, The Netherlands. Clinical Trial Service Unit and Epidemiological Studies Unit, Nuffield Department of Population Health, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX3 7LF, UK. Department of Population and Quantitative Health Sciences, School of Medicine, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, 44106, USA. Institute for Laboratory Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, 04109, Germany. Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98105, USA. Institute for Translational Genomics and Population Sciences, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, 90502, USA. Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL, 60612, USA. Radboud Institute for Health Sciences, Radboud University Medical Center, Nijmegen, GA, 6525, The Netherlands. Department of Medical Sciences, Cardiovascular Epidemiology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, 751 05, Sweden. Department of Genetics, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, 27516, USA. Department of Internal Medicine B, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, 17475, Germany. Institute for Stroke and Dementia Research (ISD), University Hospital, Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU), Munich, 80539, Germany. Munich Cluster for Systems Neurology (SyNergy), Munich, 81377, Germany. Department of Neurology, Center for Neurology and Neurosurgery, Johann Wolfgang Goethe-University, Frankfurt am Main, 60323, Germany. Institute for Social and Economic Research, Essex University, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK. Laboratory of Neurogenetics, National Institute on Aging, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA. Data Tecnica International, Glen Echo, MD, 20812, USA. Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Turku University Hospital, Turku, 20521, Finland. Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), University of Bern, Bern, 3012, Switzerland. Electrocardiography Research Group, School of Medicine, Universidad Industrial de Santander, Bucaramanga, Santander, 680003, Colombia. Department of Psychiatry and Friedman Brain Institute, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA. Mental Illness Research Education and Clinical Center (MIRECC), James J. Peters VA Medical Center, Bronx, New York, NY, 10468, USA. Population Health Research Institute, St George's, University of London, London, SW17 0RE, UK. Inserm U1167, F-59000, Lille, France. Institut Pasteur de Lille, U1167, F-59000, Lille, France. Université de Lille, U1167 - RID-AGE & Centre Hospitalier Universitaire de Lille, U1167, F-59000, Lille, France. Sorbonne Université, Cardiovascular Prevention Unit, Pitié Salpétrière Hospital, Paris, 75013, France. Collaborative Health Studies Coordinating Center, Department of Biostatistics, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA. Foundation for Research in Health Exercise and Nutrition, Kuopio Research Institute of Exercise Medicine, Kuopio, 70100, Finland. Department of Clinical Physiology and Nuclear Medicine, Kuopio University Hospital, Kuopio, 70210, Finland. Institute of Laboratory Medicine, University of Leipzig, Leipzig, 04109, Germany. Institute of Clinical Chemistry and Laboratory Medicine, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, 93053, Germany. Department of Clinical Epidemiology, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, 2333, The Netherlands. Department of Population Health Sciences, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1QU, UK. Mental Health and Wellbeing, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, G12 0XH, UK. Department of Primary Care & Population Health, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK. Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, SE-171 77, Sweden. Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, 02118, USA. Institute of Public Health and Clinical Nutrition, University of Eastern Finland, Kuopio Campus, Kuopio, FI-70210, Finland. Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, Seattle, WA, 98101, USA. Population Health Science, Bristol Medical School, University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1QU, UK. MRC Integrative Epidemiology Unit at the University of Bristol, Bristol, BS8 1TH, UK. Department of Clinical Chemistry, Fimlab Laboratories, Tampere, 33014, Finland. Department of Clinical Chemistry, University of Tampere School of Medicine, Tampere, 33014, Finland. Division of Cardiovascular Epidemiology, Institute of Environmental Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, S-171 77, Sweden. Department of Cardiology, Karolinska University Hospital, Stockholm, S-171 77, Sweden. Genetics Institute, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK. Departments of Medicine and Epidemiology, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA. Section of Biomedical Genetics, School of Medicine, Boston University, Boston, MA, 02215, USA. Department of Pediatrics, Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center, Torrance, CA, 90502, USA. Institute of Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Centre for Molecular Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, 8010, Austria. Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, Imperial College London, London, SW7 2AZ, UK. GGZ inGeest and Amsterdam Public Health Research Institute, Department of Psychiatry, Amsterdam University Medical Center, Amsterdam, 1081 HV, The Netherlands. Cardiovascular Health Research Unit and Departments of Medicine, Epidemiology, and Health Services, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA. Department of Public Health and Primary Care, Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden, 2333 ZA, The Netherlands. Center for Human Genomics, Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC, 27157, USA. MRC Human Genetics Unit, Institute of Genetics and Molecular Medicine, University of Edinburgh, Western General Hospital, Edinburgh, EH4 2XU, UK. Department of Physiology and Biophysics, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, 39216, USA. Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences, and UK Dementia Research Institute at the University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH16 4SB, UK. Swansea University Medical School, Swansea, SA2 8PP, UK. Centre for Cardiovascular Genetics, Institute Cardiovascular Science, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK. Interfaculty Institute for Genetics and Functional Genomics, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, 17475, Germany. Department of Genetics and Genomic Sciences, The Icahn Institute for Genomics and Multiscale Biology Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, 10029, USA. johan.bjorkegren@mssm.edu. Clinical Gene Networks AB, Stockholm, 104 62, Sweden. johan.bjorkegren@mssm.edu. Department of Pathophysiology, Institute of Biomedicine and Translation Medicine, University of Tartu, Biomeedikum, Tartu, 51010, Estonia. johan.bjorkegren@mssm.edu. Integrated Cardio Metabolic Centre, Department of Medicine, Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska Universitetssjukhuset, Huddinge, SE-141 57, Sweden. johan.bjorkegren@mssm.edu. Intramural Administration Management Branch, National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, NIH, Bethesda, MD, 20892, USA. Christopher.ODonnell@va.gov. Cardiology Section, Boston Veteran's Administration Healthcare, Boston, MA, 02130, USA. Christopher.ODonnell@va.gov. Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, 02115, USA. Christopher.ODonnell@va.gov.

Nature communications. 2018;(1):5141

Abstract

Carotid artery intima media thickness (cIMT) and carotid plaque are measures of subclinical atherosclerosis associated with ischemic stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD). Here, we undertake meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in 71,128 individuals for cIMT, and 48,434 individuals for carotid plaque traits. We identify eight novel susceptibility loci for cIMT, one independent association at the previously-identified PINX1 locus, and one novel locus for carotid plaque. Colocalization analysis with nearby vascular expression quantitative loci (cis-eQTLs) derived from arterial wall and metabolic tissues obtained from patients with CHD identifies candidate genes at two potentially additional loci, ADAMTS9 and LOXL4. LD score regression reveals significant genetic correlations between cIMT and plaque traits, and both cIMT and plaque with CHD, any stroke subtype and ischemic stroke. Our study provides insights into genes and tissue-specific regulatory mechanisms linking atherosclerosis both to its functional genomic origins and its clinical consequences in humans.

Methodological quality

Publication Type : Meta-Analysis

Metadata