Background-Carotid intima-media thickness (cIMT) is a widely accepted marker of subclinical atherosclerosis. To date, large-scale investigations of genetic determinants of cIMT are sparse. Methods and Results-To identify cIMT-associated genes and genetic variants, a discovery analysis using the Illumina 200K CardioMetabochip was conducted in 3430 subjects with detailed ultrasonographic determinations of cIMT from the IMPROVE (Carotid Intima Media Thickness [IMT] and IMT-Progression as Predictors of Vascular Events in a High Risk European Population) study. Segment-specific IMT measurements of common carotid, bifurcation, and internal carotid arteries, and composite IMT variables considering the whole carotid tree (IMTmean, IMTmax, and IMTmean-max), were analyzed. A replication stage investigating 42 single-nucleotide polymorphisms for association with common carotid IMT was undertaken in 5 independent European cohorts (total n=11 590). A locus on chromosome 16 (lead single-nucleotide polymorphism rs4888378, intronic in CFDP1) was associated with cIMT at significance levels passing multiple testing correction at both stages (array-wide significant discovery P=6.75×10 -7 for IMTmax; replication P=7.24×10-6 for common cIMT; adjustments for sex, age, and population substructure where applicable; minor allele frequency 0.43 and 0.41, respectively). The protective minor allele was associated with lower carotid plaque score in a replication cohort (P=0.04, n=2120) and lower coronary artery disease risk in 2 case-control studies of subjects with European ancestry (odds ratio [95% confidence interval] 0.83 [0.77-0.90], P=6.53×10-6, n=13 591; and 0.95 [0.92-0.98], P=1.83×10-4, n=82 297, respectively). Queries of human biobank data sets revealed associations of rs4888378 with nearby gene expression in vascular tissues (n=126-138). Conclusions-This study identified rs4888378 in the BCAR1-CFDP1-TMEM170A locus as a novel genetic determinant of cIMT and coronary artery disease risk in individuals of European descent. (Circ Cardiovasc Genet. 2012;5:656-665.)

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doi.org/10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.112.963660, hdl.handle.net/1765/69394
Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics
Erasmus MC: University Medical Center Rotterdam

Gertow, K., Sennblad, B., Strawbridge, R., Öhrvik, J., Zabaneh, D., Shah, S., … Hamsten, A. (2012). Identification of the BCAR1-CFDP1-TMEM170A locus as a determinant of carotid intima-media thickness and coronary artery disease risk. Circulation: Cardiovascular Genetics, 5(6), 656–665. doi:10.1161/CIRCGENETICS.112.963660