Genome-wide association study identifies a susceptibility locus for thoracic aortic aneurysms and aortic dissections spanning FBN1 at 15q21.1

Scott A. Lemaire, Merry Lynn N. McDonald, Dong Chuan Guo, Ludivine Russell, Charles C. Miller, Ralph J. Johnson, Mir Reza Bekheirnia, Luis M. Franco, Mary Nguyen, Reed E. Pyeritz, Joseph E. Bavaria, Richard Devereux, Cheryl Maslen, Kathryn W. Holmes, Kim Eagle, Simon C. Body, Christine Seidman, J. G. Seidman, Eric M. Isselbacher, Molly BrayJoseph S. Coselli, Anthony L. Estrera, Hazim J. Safi, John W. Belmont, Suzanne M. Leal, Dianna M. Milewicz

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    168 Scopus citations

    Abstract

    Although thoracic aortic aneurysms and dissections (TAAD) can be inherited as a single-gene disorder, the genetic predisposition in the majority of affected people is poorly understood. In a multistage genome-wide association study (GWAS), we compared 765 individuals who had sporadic TAAD (STAAD) with 874 controls and identified common SNPs at a 15q21.1 locus that were associated with STAAD, with odds ratios of 1.6-1.8 that achieved genome-wide significance. We followed up 107 SNPs associated with STAAD with P < 1 × 10 -5 in the region, in two separate STAAD cohorts. The associated SNPs fall into a large region of linkage disequilibrium encompassing FBN1, which encodes fibrillin-1. FBN1 mutations cause Marfan syndrome, whose major cardiovascular complication is TAAD. This study shows that common genetic variants at 15q21.1 that probably act via FBN1 are associated with STAAD, suggesting a common pathogenesis of aortic disease in Marfan syndrome and STAAD.

    Original languageEnglish (US)
    Pages (from-to)996-1002
    Number of pages7
    JournalNature genetics
    Volume43
    Issue number10
    DOIs
    StatePublished - Oct 2011

    ASJC Scopus subject areas

    • Genetics

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