Abstract 12905: Gene Expression and Expression Quantifying Trait Loci Analysis of Left Atrium of Patients With Post-operative Atrial Fibrillation

Abstract

Introduction: The majority of information on the genetic background of atrial fibrillation (AF) results from genomic DNA variant analysis without consideration of tissue expression. Hypothesis: Analysis of tissue-specific gene expression in left atrium (LA) can further understanding of the molecular mechanism of identified AF risk variants, and identify novel genes and gene variants associated with AF. Methods: We isolated mRNA from samples of the LA free wall taken during mitral valve surgery in 62 Caucasian individuals. Gene expression in the LA was compared between patients who did and did not have post-operative AF (poAF) using high-throughput RNA expression. Using genotypes of 1.4 million single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) we performed cis expression quantifying trait loci (eQTL) analysis, correlating gene expression of each gene with the genotypes of adjacent (<1Mbp) SNPs. Results: We identified 23 differentially expressed genes in the LA of patients with poAF, including three potassium channel genes (KCNA7, KCNH8 and KCNK17). The largest expression difference was in LOC645323, a long non-coding RNA. The expression of PITX2, ZFHX3 and KCNN3, previously shown to be associated with AF, did not differ between patients with and without poAF. We identified 12,476 cis eQTL relationships in the LA, several of those included genetic regions and genes previously associated with AF. We confirmed an eQTL relationship between rs3744029 genotype and the expression of MYOZ1. Furthermore we describe a novel eQTL relationship between rs6795970 genotype and the expression of the SCN10A gene. Conclusions: We have analysed the human LA expression via high-throughput RNA sequencing, and identified novel genes and gene variants likely involved in the molecular pathophysiology of AF.