학술논문

Whole-exome sequencing in an extended family with myocardial infarction unmasks familial hypercholesterolemia
Document Type
Academic Journal
Source
BMC Cardiovascular Disorders. August 26, 2014, Vol. 14
Subject
Complications and side effects
Development and progression
Research
Genetic aspects
Risk factors
Patient outcomes
Language
English
ISSN
1471-2261
Abstract
Author(s): Ingrid Braenne[sup.1,2] , Benedikt Reiz[sup.1,2] , Anja Medack[sup.1] , Mariana Kleinecke[sup.1,2] , Marcus Fischer[sup.3] , Salih Tuna[sup.6] , Christian Hengstenberg[sup.4,5] , Panos Deloukas[sup.6,7,8] , Jeanette Erdmann[sup.1,2] , Heribert Schunkert[sup.4,5] [...]
Background Familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) is an autosomal-dominant disease leading to markedly elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels and increased risk for premature myocardial infarction (MI). Mutation carriers display variable LDL cholesterol levels, which may obscure the diagnosis. We examined by whole-exome sequencing a family in which multiple myocardial infarctions occurred at a young age with unclear etiology. Methods Whole-exome sequencing of three affected family members, validation of the identified variant with Sanger-sequencing, and subsequent co-segregation analysis in the family. Results The index patient (LDL cholesterol 188 mg/dL) was referred for molecular-genetic investigations. He had coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) at the age of 59 years; 12 out of 15 1st, 2nd and 3rd degree relatives were affected with coronary artery disease (CAD) and/or premature myocardial infarction (MI). We sequenced the whole-exome of the patient and two cousins with premature MI. After filtering, we were left with a potentially disease causing variant in the LDL receptor (LDLR) gene, which we validated by Sanger-sequencing (nucleotide substitution in the acceptor splice-site of exon 10, c.1359-1G > A). Sequencing of all family members available for genetic analysis revealed co-segregation of the variant with CAD (LOD 3.0) and increased LDLC (>190 mg/dL), following correction for statin treatment (LOD 4.3). Interestingly, mutation carriers presented with highly variable corrected (183-354 mg/dL) and on-treatment LDL levels (116-274 mg/dL) such that the diagnosis of FH in this family was made only after the molecular-genetic analysis. Conclusion Even in families with unusual clustering of CAD FH remains to be underdiagnosed, which underscores the need for implementation of systematic screening programs. Whole-exome sequencing may facilitate identification of disease-causing variants in families with unclear etiology of MI and enable preventive treatment of mutation carriers in a more timely fashion. Keywords: Familial hypercholesterolemia, Myocardial infarction, Whole-exome sequencing