scholarly journals Variation in the SERPINA6/SERPINA1 locus alters morning plasma cortisol, hepatic corticosteroid binding globulin expression, gene expression in peripheral tissues, and risk of cardiovascular disease

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew A. Crawford ◽  
◽  
Sean Bankier ◽  
Elisabeth Altmaier ◽  
Catriona L. K. Barnes ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Plasma Cortisol ◽  
Statistical Power ◽  
Mendelian Randomisation ◽  
Eqtl Analysis ◽  
Causative Role ◽  
Peripheral Tissues ◽  
Corticosteroid Binding Globulin

AbstractThe stress hormone cortisol modulates fuel metabolism, cardiovascular homoeostasis, mood, inflammation and cognition. The CORtisol NETwork (CORNET) consortium previously identified a single locus associated with morning plasma cortisol. Identifying additional genetic variants that explain more of the variance in cortisol could provide new insights into cortisol biology and provide statistical power to test the causative role of cortisol in common diseases. The CORNET consortium extended its genome-wide association meta-analysis for morning plasma cortisol from 12,597 to 25,314 subjects and from ~2.2 M to ~7 M SNPs, in 17 population-based cohorts of European ancestries. We confirmed the genetic association with SERPINA6/SERPINA1. This locus contains genes encoding corticosteroid binding globulin (CBG) and α1-antitrypsin. Expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analyses undertaken in the STARNET cohort of 600 individuals showed that specific genetic variants within the SERPINA6/SERPINA1 locus influence expression of SERPINA6 rather than SERPINA1 in the liver. Moreover, trans-eQTL analysis demonstrated effects on adipose tissue gene expression, suggesting that variations in CBG levels have an effect on delivery of cortisol to peripheral tissues. Two-sample Mendelian randomisation analyses provided evidence that each genetically-determined standard deviation (SD) increase in morning plasma cortisol was associated with increased odds of chronic ischaemic heart disease (0.32, 95% CI 0.06–0.59) and myocardial infarction (0.21, 95% CI 0.00–0.43) in UK Biobank and similarly in CARDIoGRAMplusC4D. These findings reveal a causative pathway for CBG in determining cortisol action in peripheral tissues and thereby contributing to the aetiology of cardiovascular disease.

scholarly journals OR09-04 Common Genetic Variants Associated with SERPINA6 Expression in Liver Influence Cortisol-Responsive Transcriptional Networks in Human Adipose Tissue

2020 ◽  
Vol 4 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sean A Bankier ◽  
Andrew A Crawford ◽  
Lingfei Wang ◽  
Katyayani Sukhavasi ◽  
Raili Ermel ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Adipose Tissue ◽  
Coronary Artery ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Plasma Cortisol ◽  
Transcriptional Networks ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Common Genetic Variants ◽  
Regulated Gene Expression ◽  
Genome Wide Significance

Abstract A genome wide meta-analysis by the CORtisol NETwork (CORNET) consortium(1) has identified genetic variants spanning the SERPINA6/SERPINA1 locus on chromosome 14, associated with morning plasma cortisol and predictive of cardiovascular disease (Crawford et al, Unpublished). SERPINA6 encodes Corticosteroid Binding Globulin (CBG), responsible for binding most cortisol in blood and putatively mediating delivery of cortisol to target tissues. We hypothesised that genetic variants in SERPINA6 influence CBG expression in liver and cortisol delivery to extra-hepatic tissues, influencing cortisol-regulated gene expression. The Stockholm Tartu Atherosclerosis Reverse Networks Engineering Task study (STARNET)(2) provides RNA sequencing data in 9 vascular and metabolic tissues from 600 genotyped individuals (mean age 65.8, 70.3% male) undergoing coronary artery bypass grafting. We used STARNET to identify SNPs associated with plasma cortisol at genome wide significance in CORNET as cis-eQTLs for SERPINA6 in liver and as trans-eQTLs for the expression of genes across STARNET tissues. Causal inference methodologies(3) were then employed for the network reconstruction of these trans-genes and their downstream targets. We identified 21 SNPs that both were associated with cortisol at genome wide significance in CORNET (p ≤ 5x10-8) and were cis-eQTLs for SERPINA6 expression in liver (q ≤ 0.05). Moreover, these SNPs were trans-eQTLs for sets of genes in liver, subcutaneous and visceral abdominal adipose tissue, with over-representation of known glucocorticoid-regulated genes in adipose. The highest confidence gene network identified was specific to subcutaneous adipose, with the interferon regulatory trans-gene, IRF2, controlling a putative glucocorticoid-regulated network. Targets in this network include LDB2 and LIPA, both associated with coronary artery disease. We conclude that variants in the SERPINA6/SERPINA1 locus mediate their effect on plasma cortisol through variation in SERPINA6 expression in liver, and in turn affect gene expression in extra-hepatic tissues through modulating cortisol delivery. This supports a dynamic role for CBG in modulating cortisol delivery to tissues. The cortisol-responsive gene networks identified here represent candidate pathways to mediate cardiovascular risk attributable to elevated cortisol. (1) Bolton, et al. (2014) PLOS Genet. 10:e1004474., (2) Franzén et al. (2016). Science 353:827., (3) Wang and Michoel. (2017). PLOS Comput. Biol. 13:e1005703.

scholarly journals Pentraxin 3: A Novel Biomarker for Inflammatory Cardiovascular Disease

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kenji Inoue ◽  
Tatsuhiko Kodama ◽  
Hiroyuki Daida
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Pentraxin 3 ◽  
Human Endothelial Cells ◽  
C Reactive Protein ◽  
Physiological Concentration ◽  
Reactive Protein ◽  
Atherosclerotic Lesions ◽  
Human Genes

Numerous studies have recently examined the role of pentraxin 3 (PTX3) in clinical situations. The pentraxin family includes C-reactive protein (CRP); however, unlike CRP, PTX3 is expressed predominantly in atherosclerotic lesions that involve macrophages, neutrophils, dendritic cells, or smooth muscle cells. Interestingly, PTX3 gene expression in human endothelial cells is suppressed to a greater extent by pitavastatin than the expression of 6,000 other human genes that have been examined, suggesting that PTX3 may be a novel biomarker for inflammatory cardiovascular disease. The expression and involvement of PTX3 in cardiovascular diseases are discussed in this paper, along with the characteristics of PTX3 that make it a suitable biomarker; namely, that the physiological concentration is known and it is independent of other risk factors. The results discussed in this paper suggest that further investigations into the potential novel use of PTX3 as a biomarker for inflammatory cardiovascular disease should be undertaken.

scholarly journals DNA methylation and gene expression integration in cardiovascular disease

2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Guillermo Palou-Márquez ◽  
Isaac Subirana ◽  
Lara Nonell ◽  
Alba Fernández-Sanlés ◽  
Roberto Elosua
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Cardiovascular Diseases ◽  
Disease Risk ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease Risk ◽  
Risk Function ◽  
Predictive Biomarkers ◽  
Independent Study ◽  
Cell Type

Abstract Background The integration of different layers of omics information is an opportunity to tackle the complexity of cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and to identify new predictive biomarkers and potential therapeutic targets. Our aim was to integrate DNA methylation and gene expression data in an effort to identify biomarkers related to cardiovascular disease risk in a community-based population. We accessed data from the Framingham Offspring Study, a cohort study with data on DNA methylation (Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip; Illumina) and gene expression (Human Exon 1.0 ST Array; Affymetrix). Using the MOFA2 R package, we integrated these data to identify biomarkers related to the risk of presenting a cardiovascular event. Results Four independent latent factors (9, 19, 21—only in women—and 27), driven by DNA methylation, were associated with cardiovascular disease independently of classical risk factors and cell-type counts. In a sensitivity analysis, we also identified factor 21 as associated with CVD in women. Factors 9, 21 and 27 were also associated with coronary heart disease risk. Moreover, in a replication effort in an independent study three of the genes included in factor 27 were also present in a factor identified to be associated with myocardial infarction (CDC42BPB, MAN2A2 and RPTOR). Factor 9 was related to age and cell-type proportions; factor 19 was related to age and B cells count; factor 21 pointed to human immunodeficiency virus infection-related pathways and inflammation; and factor 27 was related to lifestyle factors such as alcohol consumption, smoking and body mass index. Inclusion of factor 21 (only in women) improved the discriminative and reclassification capacity of the Framingham classical risk function and factor 27 improved its discrimination. Conclusions Unsupervised multi-omics data integration methods have the potential to provide insights into the pathogenesis of cardiovascular diseases. We identified four independent factors (one only in women) pointing to inflammation, endothelium homeostasis, visceral fat, cardiac remodeling and lifestyles as key players in the determination of cardiovascular risk. Moreover, two of these factors improved the predictive capacity of a classical risk function.

scholarly journals Integrative genomics reveals paths to sex dimorphism in Salix purpurea L

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brennan Hyden ◽  
Craig H. Carlson ◽  
Fred E. Gouker ◽  
Jeremy Schmutz ◽  
Kerrie Barry ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Sex Determination ◽  
Bisulfite Sequencing ◽  
Epigenetic Modification ◽  
Small Rna Sequencing ◽  
Regulation Of Transcription ◽  
Eqtl Analysis ◽  
Sex Dimorphism ◽  
Network Analyses ◽  
Salix Purpurea

AbstractSex dimorphism and gene expression were studied in developing catkins in 159 F2 individuals from the bioenergy crop Salix purpurea, and potential mechanisms and pathways for regulating sex development were explored. Differential expression, eQTL, bisulfite sequencing, and network analysis were used to characterize sex dimorphism, detect candidate master regulator genes, and identify pathways through which the sex determination region (SDR) may mediate sex dimorphism. Eleven genes are presented as candidates for master regulators of sex, supported by gene expression and network analyses. These include genes putatively involved in hormone signaling, epigenetic modification, and regulation of transcription. eQTL analysis revealed a suite of transcription factors and genes involved in secondary metabolism and floral development that were predicted to be under direct control of the sex determination region. Furthermore, data from bisulfite sequencing and small RNA sequencing revealed strong differences in expression between males and females that would implicate both of these processes in sex dimorphism pathways. These data indicate that the mechanism of sex determination in Salix purpurea is likely different from that observed in the related genus Populus. This further demonstrates the dynamic nature of SDRs in plants, which involves a multitude of mechanisms of sex determination and a high rate of turnover.

scholarly journals Protective effects of a unique combination of nutritionally active ingredients on risk factors and gene expression associated with atherosclerosis in C57BL/6J mice fed a high fat diet

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe W. E. Moss ◽  
Jessica O Williams ◽  
Wijdan Al-Ahmadi ◽  
Victoria O'Morain ◽  
Yee-Hung Chan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Risk Factors ◽  
Cardiovascular Disease ◽  
High Fat Diet ◽  
Inflammatory Disorder ◽  
Protective Effects ◽  
Unique Combination ◽  
Omega 3 ◽  
High Fat ◽  
Food Ingredients

Atherosclerosis, an inflammatory disorder of the vasculature and the underlying cause of cardiovascular disease, is responsible for one in three global deaths. Consumption of active food ingredients such as omega-3...

scholarly journals Transcriptome-wide Mendelian randomization study prioritising novel tissue-dependent genes for glioma susceptibility

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jamie W. Robinson ◽  
Richard M. Martin ◽  
Spiridon Tsavachidis ◽  
Amy E. Howell ◽  
Caroline L. Relton ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Tissue Expression ◽  
Tissue Type ◽  
Mendelian Randomisation ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Causal Pathways ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Glioma Risk ◽  
Brain Tissues

AbstractGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) have discovered 27 loci associated with glioma risk. Whether these loci are causally implicated in glioma risk, and how risk differs across tissues, has yet to be systematically explored. We integrated multi-tissue expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) and glioma GWAS data using a combined Mendelian randomisation (MR) and colocalisation approach. We investigated how genetically predicted gene expression affects risk across tissue type (brain, estimated effective n = 1194 and whole blood, n = 31,684) and glioma subtype (all glioma (7400 cases, 8257 controls) glioblastoma (GBM, 3112 cases) and non-GBM gliomas (2411 cases)). We also leveraged tissue-specific eQTLs collected from 13 brain tissues (n = 114 to 209). The MR and colocalisation results suggested that genetically predicted increased gene expression of 12 genes were associated with glioma, GBM and/or non-GBM risk, three of which are novel glioma susceptibility genes (RETREG2/FAM134A, FAM178B and MVB12B/FAM125B). The effect of gene expression appears to be relatively consistent across glioma subtype diagnoses. Examining how risk differed across 13 brain tissues highlighted five candidate tissues (cerebellum, cortex, and the putamen, nucleus accumbens and caudate basal ganglia) and four previously implicated genes (JAK1, STMN3, PICK1 and EGFR). These analyses identified robust causal evidence for 12 genes and glioma risk, three of which are novel. The correlation of MR estimates in brain and blood are consistently low which suggested that tissue specificity needs to be carefully considered for glioma. Our results have implicated genes yet to be associated with glioma susceptibility and provided insight into putatively causal pathways for glioma risk.

scholarly journals Genetic evidence for a causative effect of airflow obstruction on left ventricular filling: a Mendelian randomisation study

2021 ◽  
Vol 22 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lars Harbaum ◽  
Jan K. Hennigs ◽  
Marcel Simon ◽  
Tim Oqueka ◽  
Henrik Watz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
General Population ◽  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Airflow Obstruction ◽  
Left Ventricular ◽  
Sensitivity Analyses ◽  
Weighted Regression ◽  
Mendelian Randomisation ◽  
Effect Estimate ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Inverse Variance

Abstract Background Observational studies on the general population have suggested that airflow obstruction associates with left ventricular (LV) filling. To limit the influence of environmental risk factors/exposures, we used a Mendelian randomisation (MR) approach based on common genetic variations and tested whether a causative relation between airflow obstruction and LV filling can be detected. Methods We used summary statistics from large genome-wide association studies (GWAS) on the ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 s to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) measured by spirometry and the LV end-diastolic volume (LVEDV) as assessed by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. The primary MR was based on an inverse variance weighted regression. Various complementary MR methods and subsets of the instrument variables were used to assess the plausibility of the findings. Results We obtained consistent evidence in our primary MR analysis and subsequent sensitivity analyses that reducing airflow obstruction leads to increased inflow to the LV (odds ratio [OR] from inverse variance weighted regression 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.01–1.09, P = 0.0172). Sensitivity analyses indicated a certain extent of negative horizontal pleiotropy and the estimate from biased-corrected MR-Egger was adjusted upward (OR 1.2, 95% CI 1.09–1.31, P < 0.001). Prioritisation of single genetic variants revealed rs995758, rs2070600 and rs7733410 as major contributors to the MR result. Conclusion Our findings indicate a causal relationship between airflow obstruction and LV filling in the general population providing genetic context to observational associations. The results suggest that targeting (even subclinical) airflow obstruction can lead to direct cardiac improvements, demonstrated by an increase in LVEDV. Functional annotation of single genetic variants contributing most to the causal effect estimate could help to prioritise biological underpinnings.

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