U.S. research: Genetic variation may lead to early cardiovascular disease

WASHINGTON, Jan. 2 (Chinese media) -- Researchers from Duke

University Medical Center have identified a variation in a particular gene that

increases susceptibility to early coronary artery disease, the open-access

journal PLoS Genetics reported Friday.

In a previous study, a region on Chromosome 7 was

linked to coronary artery disease (CAD). More recently, the researchers focused

on identifying the gene in this region that confers risk of early-onset CAD and

identified it as the neuropeptide Y (NPY) gene. The NPY is one of the most

plentiful and important proteins in the body and is a neurotransmitter related

to the control of appetite and feeding behavior, among other functions.

The current research, led by Svati Shah and Elizabeth

Hauser, found evidence for six related variations in the NPY gene that show

evidence of transmission from generation to generation and association across a

population of early-onset CAD patients.

The researchers evaluated 1,000 families for CAD or

evidence of a true heart attack, as part of the GENECARD study put together by

the Duke University Cardiology Consortium. An independent, nonfamilial study

used a collection of samples of nearly everyone who had an angiogram at Duke

since 2001. Co-authors William Kraus and Christopher Granger founded this

repository, called CATHGEN, which is now nearing 10,000 subjects. The

nonfamilial work showed a strong relationship between the NPY genetic variants

associated with coronary disease.

The genetic results were even stronger in patients

with onset of CAD before the age of 37. "We showed a strong age effect," said

Hauser, "If one has the NPY gene variants in one of two copies (from mother and

father), then you may develop coronary disease earlier."

"These young patients are a vulnerable population on

whom CAD has a significant long-term impact, but they are particularly hard to

identify and therefore to initiate preventive therapies for," Shah said, "These

and other genetic findings may help us in the future to identify these patients

prior to development of CAD or their first heart attack."