A common haplotype at the CD36 locus is associated with high free fatty acid levels and increased cardiovascular risk in Caucasians.
CD36 is a class B scavenger receptor recognizing a variety of ligands including long-chain fatty acids and modified LDL. We investigated whether genetic variability at this locus is a determinant of free fatty acid (FFA) plasma levels and risk of coronary artery disease (CAD) in Caucasians. Typing of 21 polymorphic markers, evenly spanning the CD36 gene, revealed two linkage disequilibrium (LD) blocks that could be tagged by five polymorphisms (-33137A>G, -31118G>A, 25444G>A, 27645del>ins and 30294G>C). In 585 non-diabetic individuals of Caucasian origin, the 30294G>C polymorphism was significantly associated with FFA levels (P = 0.02)--an effect that was especially visible among men (P = 0.009). A similar association was observed in this gender at -33137 (P = 0.008) and -31118 (P = 0.028). When the five tag polymorphisms were considered together, men carrying the AGGIG haplotype had 31% higher FFA (P = 0.0002) and 20% higher triglycerides (P = 0.025) than non-carriers. The same haplotype was associated with increased risk of CAD in 197 type 2 diabetic individuals from the US (OR = 2.3, 95% CI 1.2-4.2). A similar tendency was observed in a group of 321 type 2 diabetic individuals from Italy (OR = 1.4, 0.9-2.3), resulting in an overall relative risk of 1.6 (1.1-2.3, P = 0.015) in the two populations considered together. By targeted resequencing, we identified a common variant in the CD36 promoter that is in strong LD with the AGGIG haplotype and could be partly responsible for these findings. In conclusion, this comprehensive study of CD36 variability indicates that the common polymorphisms at this locus modulate lipid metabolism and cardiovascular risk in Caucasians.
Research Division, Joslin Diabetes Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
Xiaowei
X
Ma
Simonetta
S
Bacci
Wojciech
W
Mlynarski
Lucia
L
Gottardo
Teresa
T
Soccio
Claudia
C
Menzaghi
Elisabetta
E
Iori
Robert A
RA
Lager
Adhir R
AR
Shroff
Ernest V
EV
Gervino
Richard W
RW
Nesto
Michael T
MT
Johnstone
Nada A
NA
Abumrad
Angelo
A
Avogaro
Vincenzo
V
Trischitta
Alessandro
A
Doria
D001483:Base Sequence; D018955:CD36 Antigens / Q000235:genetics*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000209:etiology / Q000235:genetics* / Q000378:metabolism; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified / Q000378:metabolism*; D005260:Female; D005787:Gene Frequency; D005838:Genotype; D006239:Haplotypes / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D015810:Linkage Disequilibrium; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D008969:Molecular Sequence Data; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D012307:Risk Factors; D012689:Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid; D044465:White People
D018955:CD36 Antigens; D005230:Fatty Acids, Nonesterified