Abstract 3050: Assessment of Genetic Risk for Thoracic Aortic Aneurysm Among Hypertensive Patients

Abstract

Introduction: Aneurysms and dissections at the thoracic aorta (TAA) are the leading causes of mortality and morbidity in the United States and Japan. Although hypertension is a major risk for TAA, several studies have indicated that genetic factors also influence the structural formation of TAA. The purpose of the present study was to identify gene polymorphisms associated with TAA among hypertensive patients for assessment of the genetic risk for this condition. Methods: This case-control study comprised 1351 hypertensive individuals, including 88 subjects with TAA and 1263 without any cardiovascular complications. The genotypes for 142 polymorphisms of 121 candidate genes were determined by a method that combines the polymerase chain reaction and sequence-specific oligonucleotide probes with suspension array technology. Results: Evaluation of genotype distributions by the chi-square test and subsequent multivariable logistic regression analysis with adjustment for age, sex, body mass index, and prevalence of smoking, diabetes mellitus, hypercholesterolemia, and metabolic syndrome revealed that the T→G (3′ UTR) polymorphism of the thrombospondin 2 gene ( THBS2 ; odds ratio, 4.7) is significantly (P < 0.05) associated with TAA in hypertensive subjects, with the variant G allele representing a risk factor for this condition. Furthermore, the -110A→C polymorphism of heat-shock 70-kD protein 8 gene ( HSPA8 ; odd ratio, 0.3), the C→T (Pro198Leu) polymorphism of the glutathione peroxidase gene ( GPX1 ; odds ratio, 0.3), the -6G→A polymorphism of angiotensin 1 gene ( AGT ; odds ratio, 0.3), and the -850C→T polymorphism of tumor necrosis factor gene ( TNF ; odds ratio, 0.5) were significantly associated with this condition, with the variant allele of each polymorphism being protective against this condition. A stepwise forward selection procedure revealed that polymorphisms of THBS2 , HSPA8 , GPX1 , AGT , and TNF significantly affected the prevalence of TAA. Conclusions: Genetic variant of THBS2 may be a risk factor for TAA in hypertensive patients, whereas variants of HSPA8 , GPX1 , AGT , and TNF may be protective against this condition. Determination of genotypes for these polymorphisms may prove informative for assessment of the genetic risk for TAA.