Genetic determinants of circulating sphingolipid concentrations in European populations

Andrew A. Hicks, Peter P. Pramstaller, Åsa Johansson, Veronique Vitart, Igor Rudan, Peter Ugocsai, Yurii Aulchenko, Christopher S. Franklin, Gerhard Liebisch, Jeanette Erdmann, Inger Jonasson, Irina V. Zorkoltseva, Cristian Pattaro, Caroline Hayward, Aaron Isaacs, Christian Hengstenberg, Susan Campbell, Carsten Gnewuch, A. Cecile J.W. Janssens, Anatoly V. KirichenkoInke R. König, Fabio Marroni, Ozren Polasek, Ayse Demirkan, Ivana Kolcic, Christine Schwienbacher, Wilmar Igl, Zrinka Biloglav, Jacqueline C.M. Witteman, Irene Pichler, Ghazal Zaboli, Tatiana I. Axenovich, Annette Peters, Stefan Schreiber, H. Erich Wichmann, Heribert Schunkert, Nick Hastie, Ben A. Oostra, Sarah H. Wild, Thomas Meitinger, Ulf Gyllensten, Cornelia M. Van Duijn, James F. Wilson, Alan Wright, Gerd Schmitz, Harry Campbell

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

172 Scopus citations

Abstract

Sphingolipids have essential roles as structural components of cell membranes and in cell signalling, and disruption of their metabolism causes several diseases, with diverse neurological, psychiatric, and metabolic consequences. Increasingly, variants within a few of the genes that encode enzymes involved in sphingolipidmetabolismare being associated with complex disease phenotypes. Direct experimental evidence supports a role of specific sphingolipid species in several common complex chronic disease processes including atherosclerotic plaque formation, myocardial infarction (MI), cardiomyopathy, pancreatic b-cell failure, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, sphingolipids represent novel and important intermediate phenotypes for genetic analysis, yet little is known about the major genetic variants that influence their circulating levels in the general population. We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) between 318,237 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and levels of circulating sphingomyelin (SM), dihydrosphingomyelin (Dih-SM), ceramide (Cer), and glucosylceramide (GluCer) single lipid species (33 traits); and 43 matchedmetabolite ratiosmeasured in 4,400 subjects from five diverse European populations. Associated variants (32) in five genomic regions were identified with genome-wide significant corrected p-values ranging down to 9.08610266. The strongest associations were observed in or near 7 genes functionally involved in ceramide biosynthesis and trafficking: SPTLC3, LASS4, SGPP1, ATP10D, and FADS1-3. Variants in3 loci (ATP10D, FADS3, and SPTLC3) associate with MI in a series of three German MI studies. An additional 70 variants across 23 candidate genes involved in sphingolipid-metabolizing pathways also demonstrate association (p=1024 or less). Circulating concentrations of several key components in sphingolipid metabolism are thus under strong genetic control, and variants in these loci can be tested for a role in the development of common cardiovascular, metabolic, neurological, and psychiatric diseases.

Original languageEnglish
Article numbere1000672
JournalPLoS Genetics
Volume5
Issue number10
DOIs
StatePublished - Oct 2009
Externally publishedYes

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