title: A genome wide association study identifies common variants associated with lipid levels in the Chinese population.
abstract: Plasma lipid levels are important risk factors for cardiovascular disease and are influenced by genetic and environmental factors. Recent genome wide association studies (GWAS) have identified several lipid-associated loci, but these loci have been identified primarily in European populations. In order to identify genetic markers for lipid levels in a Chinese population and analyze the heterogeneity between Europeans and Asians, especially Chinese, we performed a meta-analysis of two genome wide association studies on four common lipid traits including total cholesterol (TC), triglycerides (TG), low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL) in a Han Chinese population totaling 3,451 healthy subjects. Replication was performed in an additional 8,830 subjects of Han Chinese ethnicity. We replicated eight loci associated with lipid levels previously reported in a European population. The loci genome wide significantly associated with TC were near DOCK7, HMGCR and ABO; those genome wide significantly associated with TG were near APOA1/C3/A4/A5 and LPL; those genome wide significantly associated with LDL were near HMGCR, ABO and TOMM40; and those genome wide significantly associated with HDL were near LPL, LIPC and CETP. In addition, an additive genotype score of eight SNPs representing the eight loci that were found to be associated with lipid levels was associated with higher TC, TG and LDL levels (P = 5.52 × 10(-16), 1.38 × 10(-6) and 5.59 × 10(-9), respectively). These findings suggest the cumulative effects of multiple genetic loci on plasma lipid levels. Comparisons with previous GWAS of lipids highlight heterogeneity in allele frequency and in effect size for some loci between Chinese and European populations. The results from our GWAS provided comprehensive and convincing evidence of the genetic determinants of plasma lipid levels in a Chinese population.
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China ; Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Management, Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing, China.
authors.forename: Li
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Meian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Institute of Urology and Nephrology, First Affiliated Hospital & Center for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
authors.forename: Zengnan
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Mo
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Chen
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Wu
authors.affiliation: Dongfeng Central Hospital, Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Handong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Dianke
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Yu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Urology and Nephrology, First Affiliated Hospital & Center for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
authors.forename: Xiaobo
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China ; Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Xiaomin
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Yiqin
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Fudan University Institute of Urology, Huashan Hospital, & Fudan-VARI Center for Genetic Epidemiology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jielin
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Sun
authors.affiliation: Institute of Urology and Nephrology, First Affiliated Hospital & Center for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
authors.forename: Yong
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Gao
authors.affiliation: Institute of Urology and Nephrology, First Affiliated Hospital & Center for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
authors.forename: Aihua
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Yunfeng
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: He
authors.affiliation: Institute of Urology and Nephrology, First Affiliated Hospital & Center for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
authors.forename: Haiying
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.affiliation: Institute of Urology and Nephrology, First Affiliated Hospital & Center for Genomic and Personalized Medicine, Guangxi Medical University, Nanning, Guangxi, China.
authors.forename: Xue
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Qin
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jingwen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Huaixing
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Nutrition and Metabolism, Institute for Nutritional Sciences, Shanghai Institutes for Biological Sciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Graduate School of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Xu
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Dongfeng Central Hospital, Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Zhu
authors.affiliation: Dongfeng Central Hospital, Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Xinwen
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Min
authors.affiliation: Dongfeng Central Hospital, Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Mingjian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Lang
authors.affiliation: Dongfeng Central Hospital, Dongfeng Motor Corporation and Hubei University of Medicine, Shiyan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Dongfeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Li
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Kan
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Zhai
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Jiang
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Wen
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Tan
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Weihong
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Youjie
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Sheng
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wei
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Xiaoping
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Miao
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Feng
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Weimin
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Fang
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Yuan
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liang
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Qifei
authors.initials: Q
authors.lastname: Deng
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Xiayun
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Dai
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Dafeng
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Suli
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Huang
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Huan
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Guo
authors.affiliation: Fudan University Institute of Urology, Huashan Hospital, & Fudan-VARI Center for Genetic Epidemiology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Lilly Zheng
authors.affiliation: Fudan University Institute of Urology, Huashan Hospital, & Fudan-VARI Center for Genetic Epidemiology, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
authors.forename: Jianfeng
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Molecular Oncology, Cancer Institute & Hospital, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences and Peking Union Medical College, Beijing, China.
authors.forename: Dongxin
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authors.lastname: Lin
authors.affiliation: Departments of Nutrition and Epidemiology, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts, United States of America.
authors.forename: Frank B
authors.initials: FB
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.affiliation: MOE Key Lab of Environment and Health, School of Public Health, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science & Technology, Wuhan, Hubei, China.
authors.forename: Tangchun
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mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002681:China; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D005819:Genetic Markers; D014644:Genetic Variation; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D005838:Genotype; D006801:Humans; D050356:Lipid Metabolism / Q000235:genetics*; D008055:Lipids / Q000097:blood; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D008055:Lipids