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Data Demonstrating the Association of
Increased Risk for Heart Attack for Carriers
with the KIF6 Gene Variant in a Population
from Costa Rica
(Business Wire) Celera and its collaborators
today announced the presentation of data
demonstrating increased risk of myocardial
infarction (MI), or heart attack, in
carriers of the KIF6 gene variant in a
case-control study of a population from
Costa Rica.
The data will be presented as poster #P204
in session 3 at the American Heart
Association's 49TH Cardiovascular Disease
Epidemiology and Prevention Conference in
Palm Harbor, FL.
This follows Celera's recent findings from
six prospective studies that report the
association of a variant of the gene
encoding kinesin-like protein 6 with
coronary events in whites and African
American populations(1-5).
In this research study, carriers of the KIF6
gene variant (58 percent of control
subjects) had an elevated risk for non-fatal
MI when compared with non-carriers, and
ethnicity had no apparent effect on the
association between the KIF6 variant and
non-fatal MI. As with the previous studies
in other population groups, the increased
risk of clinical events observed in KIF6
carriers was independent of other well-known
CHD risk factors, including smoking,
hypertension, cholesterol level, age and
sex, which Celera believes further supports
the conclusion that the KIF6 gene variant is
a new, independent predictor of risk for CHD.
This current observational study did not
measure response to statin therapy according
to KIF6 status.
"Given that genetic associations can vary
among different populations, it is
imperative to determine whether a genetic
predictor for disease is replicated in
various ethnic groups," said Thomas White,
Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer at Celera.
"The current findings provide us with
important data that KIF6 predicts risk for
heart disease in this segment of the large
population of people of Hispanic origin in
the Americas. We are continuing to perform
studies toward replicating this association
in other ethnic populations."
"These findings provide us with a better
understanding of genetic predisposition to
coronary heart disease in the Hispanic
population," said Hannia Campos, Ph.D.,
Senior Lecturer at Harvard School of Public
Health, Harvard University, and a senior
author of this poster.
As part of this case-control research study,
4,142 subjects, who were Hispanics from
Costa Rica, were genotyped for the KIF6 gene
variant. The non-fatal MI cases were 1,988
men and women who had survived a first acute
MI; controls were 2,154 subjects selected
randomly from the population who had no
history of MI and whose age, gender and area
of residence were matched with cases.
Lance Bare, Ph.D., Assistant Director of
Cardiovascular Disease Research at Celera,
was the lead author of this genetic study,
which was conducted with collaborators at
Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA,
Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard
Medical School, MA, and the University of
Costa Rica.
About KIF6
Approximately 60 percent of studied
populations are carriers of the KIF6 gene
variant, and these carriers were shown to
have up to a 55% increased risk of primary
and recurrent coronary heart disease(1-5).
These studies have shown that this risk is
significantly reduced by statin therapy. The
KIF6 (kinesin-like protein 6) gene encodes a
protein involved in the transport of cargo
such as organelles, protein complexes and
mRNA from one part of the cell to another.
Kinesins propel themselves along
microtubules within a cell in an ATP
dependent manner. The KIF6 kinesin is a
dimer that has two coiled-coil structures.
About Coronary Heart Disease
According to the American Heart Association,
coronary heart disease includes acute
myocardial infarction and other acute
ischemic coronary heart disease. This year
an estimated 700,000 Americans will have a
new coronary event. About 500,000 will have
a recurrent event (ARIC, 1987-2000, NHLBI).
It is estimated that an additional 175,000
silent first heart attacks occur each year.
Coronary heart disease caused 1 of every 5
deaths in the United States in 2006. CHD is
the largest killer of American males and
females. Every 26 seconds an American will
suffer a coronary event, and every minute
someone will die from one. About 41 percent
of those who experience a coronary event
will die within a year. |
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