Atrial fibrillation (AF) increases the risk of stroke, heart failure, dementia and death. The prevalence of AF doubles for each advancing decade of life and multiple data sources suggest that the prevalence of AF is increasing over time. It is estimated that the U.S. prevalence of AF will rise from 2.3 million in 2001 to about 6 to 12 million in 2050. The risk factors for AF are multi-factorial, and include well-known conditions such hypertension and heart failure as well as less familiar traits such as P wave morphology and PR interval. Traditionally, genetic contributions to AF have been considered rare, but in the past five years there have been increasing data demonstrating that all forms of AF, and particularly lone AF, are heritable. Although mutations have been identified in a series of ion channels in families and individuals with AF, these variants are rare causes of the disease. Thus, there remains a significant, but as yet, unexplained genetic basis for AF. The advent of the human genome and HapMap projects and high-throughput genotyping has fundamentally accelerated the ability to discover the genetic contribution to common variation in human disease. Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have uncovered common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) underlying risk for diseases such as diabetes and coronary heart disease, and recently AF, as well as quantitative phenotypes such as QT interval. Hence, understanding the role of common genetic variation in AF is of paramount importance and recently achievable. We hypothesize that common variants contribute to variability in AF risk and PR interval in the general population.
The specific aims are:
Aim 1. To perform a meta-analysis of GWAS to identify common variants predisposing to AF using MGH, Framingham Heart Study (FHS), Rotterdam and Cardiovascular Health Study (CHS).
Aim 2. To conduct a meta-analysis of GWAS with PR interval, a quantitative intermediate phenotype for AF, in the FHS, Rotterdam, CHS, MONICA/KORA and Gutenberg Heart (GHS) Studies.
Aim 3. To replicate the top 250 AF SNPs and top 100 PR interval SNPs in six additional cohorts.
Aim 4. To study mechanisms of SNPs replicated in Aim 3 in cellular and zebrafish model systems.
Aim 5. To examine gene-environment (GEI) and gene-gene (epistasis) interactions. In summary, AF is a major source of morbidity and mortality in the population. We bring together a multi- institutional, multi-national team with expertise in AF, genetic epidemiology, statistical genetics, cellular electrophysiology and developmental biology. We propose leveraging existing cohorts and six ongoing GWAS to uncover the genetic contribution to AF and PR interval in the community. The multi-disciplinary breadth of the project will allow translation of the GWAS findings into basic insights of the cellular mechanisms underlying AF. Identification of genes and pathways involved in AF will provide opportunities to advance knowledge of the pathogenesis of AF, and provide novel targets for risk stratification and future therapies.

Public Health Relevance

Atrial fibrillation, a common, irregular heart rhythm, increases the risk of stroke and death. Although it is known that atrial fibrillation can be inherited, the specific genetic factors contributing to atrial fibrillation are largely unknown. Investigators from the Framingham Heart Study, Massachusetts General Hospital, Rotterdam, Cardiovascular Health Study and Vanderbilt propose to examine the results of large genetic screening studies, and test the most important findings in other studies in the United States and Europe in order to discover genetic factors contributing to risk of atrial fibrillation.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI)
Type
Research Project (R01)
Project #
5R01HL092577-02
Application #
7804523
Study Section
Special Emphasis Panel (ZRG1-HOP-T (07))
Program Officer
Paltoo, Dina
Project Start
2009-04-15
Project End
2013-03-31
Budget Start
2010-04-01
Budget End
2011-03-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
2010
Total Cost
$811,807
Indirect Cost
Name
Boston University
Department
Internal Medicine/Medicine
Type
Schools of Medicine
DUNS #
604483045
City
Boston
State
MA
Country
United States
Zip Code
02118
Bapat, Aneesh; Anderson, Christopher D; Ellinor, Patrick T et al. (2018) Genomic basis of atrial fibrillation. Heart 104:201-206
Khera, Amit V; Chaffin, Mark; Aragam, Krishna G et al. (2018) Genome-wide polygenic scores for common diseases identify individuals with risk equivalent to monogenic mutations. Nat Genet 50:1219-1224
Weng, Lu-Chen; Preis, Sarah R; Hulme, Olivia L et al. (2018) Genetic Predisposition, Clinical Risk Factor Burden, and Lifetime Risk of Atrial Fibrillation. Circulation 137:1027-1038
Lin, Honghuang; van Setten, Jessica; Smith, Albert V et al. (2018) Common and Rare Coding Genetic Variation Underlying the Electrocardiographic PR Interval. Circ Genom Precis Med 11:e002037
Long, Michelle T; Benjamin, Emelia J (2018) Prevalent Cardiovascular Disease Events and T1 Mapping Defined Hepatic Fibrosis. Circ Cardiovasc Imaging 11:e007553
Turcot, Valérie (see original citation for additional authors) (2018) Protein-altering variants associated with body mass index implicate pathways that control energy intake and expenditure in obesity. Nat Genet 50:26-41
Nishtala, Arvind; Piers, Ryan J; Himali, Jayandra J et al. (2018) Atrial fibrillation and cognitive decline in the Framingham Heart Study. Heart Rhythm 15:166-172
Choi, Seung Hoan; Weng, Lu-Chen; Roselli, Carolina et al. (2018) Association Between Titin Loss-of-Function Variants and Early-Onset Atrial Fibrillation. JAMA 320:2354-2364
Ko, Darae; Preis, Sarah R; Lubitz, Steven A et al. (2018) Relation of Orthostatic Hypotension With New-Onset Atrial Fibrillation (From the Framingham Heart Study). Am J Cardiol 121:596-601
Khurshid, Shaan; Choi, Seung Hoan; Weng, Lu-Chen et al. (2018) Frequency of Cardiac Rhythm Abnormalities in a Half Million Adults. Circ Arrhythm Electrophysiol 11:e006273

Showing the most recent 10 out of 211 publications