(Circulation. 2000;101:2461.)
© 2000 American Heart Association, Inc.
Clinical Investigation and Reports |
From the Centre for Genetics of Cardiovascular Disorders (P.J.T., C.M.T., J.M.P., S.E.H.), Department of Medicine, UCL Medical School, The Rayne Institute, University Street, London, UK; Department of Epidemiology (K.L.E., M.A.A.), School of Public Health and Community Medicine, University of Washington, Seattle, Wash; and School of Public Health (B.N.), Queensland University of Technology, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.
Correspondence to Dr Philippa Talmud, Division of Cardiovascular Genetics, Dept of Medicine, University College London Medical School, Rayne Institute, University Street, London WC1E 6JJ, UK. E-mail p.talmud{at}ucl.ac.uk
| Abstract |
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Methods and ResultsWe have identified a tetranucleotide repeat (fragment sizes from 324 to 464 bp; heterozygosity index=0.74) within the CETP promoter and used it in quantitative sib-pair linkage analysis in 119 female dizygotic (DZ) twins. Linkage was found to LDL size (P<0.001), TG (P<0.005), and plasma apoB (P=0.02). The distribution of the tetranucleotide repeats was bimodal, and there was strong allelic association of the "short" alleles with the B2 allele of CETP TaqIB polymorphic site (P<0.001).
ConclusionsThis report of linkage of the CETP gene to LDL particle size adds to the list of candidate genes linked to LDL size, supporting the hypothesis of multigenic determination of LDL size heterogeneity. Whether this promoter variation is itself functional or is a marker for a functional site in the CETP gene remains to be determined.
Key Words: lipoproteins genetics genes
| Introduction |
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Correlations of LDL size in monozygotic twins versus dizygotic (DZ) twins estimate the heritability range from 0.39 to 0.557 8 under a polygenic model. Several recent studies have used quantitative sib-pair analysis of LDL size and candidate genes. Rotter et al9 confirmed the linkage of LDL size to the LDL-R first reported by Nishina et al,10 as well as linkage to manganese superoxide dismutase (MnSOD) and to chromosome 16.9 11 Allayee et al11 identified linkage to the APOAI-C3-A4 locus. We previously reported linkage of LDL particle size with the APOB gene locus in the DZ twins participating in the Kaiser Permanente Women Twins Study.12
Several lines of evidence support the notion that cholesteryl ester transfer protein (CETP) may be involved in LDL size determination. CETP plays a central role in reverse cholesterol transport in the movement of cholesterol from peripheral tissues to the liver by transferring cholesteryl ester (CE) from HDL cholesterol (HDL-C) to apoB-containing lipoproteins with TG transfer in the opposite direction. Overall, this reciprocal transfer plays a major role in the composition and size of both HDL and apoB-containing lipoproteins. Several studies have determined that HDL size remodeling is determined by CETP.13 14 15 Similarly, there is evidence that CETP may play a role in LDL size determination.16 17
To examine the linkage of LDL particle size with the CETP gene, we have identified a highly informative tetranucleotide repeat within the CETP gene promoter and used it in quantitative sib-pair linkage analysis in the DZ twins of the Kaiser Permanente Women Twins Study.18
| Methods |
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Lipids, Lipoproteins, and ApoB
Details of this are given elsewhere.12 Briefly,
plasma from 30 mL of EDTA whole blood, drawn after an overnight fast,
was separated by centrifugation within 2 hours and
stored at 4°C. Two to 16 percent polyacrylamide nondenaturing
gradient-gel electrophoresis was performed on the plasma (Pharmacia),
and the diameter of the major LDL subclass was estimated as reported
previously,21 with LDL peak particle diameter (LDL-PPD)
representing LDL size heterogeneity. Total
HDL-C, LDL cholesterol (LDL-C), TG, and apoB levels were
measured as reported previously.12 The characteristics of
the study subjects, as well as the frequency distribution of the
LDL-PPD in this sample, have been reported previously.8 22
All mean values were within the normal ranges.
DNA Extraction
Blood samples from 126 DZ twin pairs (252 individual women) were
stored at -70°C. DNA was isolated at the Donner Laboratory by a
modified NH4Cl lysis salt chloroform
method.23 Genotyping was done at University College
London.
DNA Amplification and Genotyping
Oligonucleotides (Gibco-BRL) spanning a region
of the CETP promoter (accession number
U71187)24 were as follows: forward
oligonucleotide FAM
(6-carboxyfluorescein)labeled 5'-CATTAGCTGGGTGTGGTGGTA;
the reverse oligonucleotide was
5'-ATGGATTTGCCTACTCTGAAC. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification
(performed on a Tetrad PTC225 Peltier Thermal Cycler [MJ Research])
was performed with a stepwise cycle of denaturing at 95°C for 5
minutes, 10 cycles of 95°C for 1 minute, 60°C annealing for 1
minute, and then 72°C for 1 minute. Annealing temperature was
decreased to 58°C for 10 cycles, then 56°C for 10 cycles. The PCR
reaction was conducted in a buffer containing 2.0 µL of dNTPs, 0.6
µL of 50 mmol/L MgCl2 (final concentration
of 1.5 mmol/L), 1.0 µL of dimethyl sulfoxide (Sigma), 0.1 µL
of each primer diluted 100 pmol/µL, and 0.25 U of Taq polymerase
(Gibco-BRL). Estimates of DNA fragment size were made with the Genescan
software program with the AB1 377 automated sequencer (Applied
Biosystems). Because both twins were needed in the analysis,
pairs were included only if genotype was available for both.
TaqIB genotyping was performed by the method of Fumeron et
al.25
DNA Sequencing
Oligonucleotides as above were synthesized
without fluorescent labeling for sequencing performed on an ABI
377 automated sequencer (Applied Biosystems) with an ABI Prism BigDye
terminator cycle sequencing ready reaction kit (Applied
Biosystems).
Data Analysis
Quantitative sib-pair linkage analysis was used to test
for genetic linkage between the lipoprotein phenotypes and the
CETP gene. Full details are presented in the study
by Austin et al.12 Because the TG distribution was
skewed, a natural log transformation was applied to plasma
triglyceride values. Because sib-pair analysis is
sensitive to outliers that may lead to false-positive findings, 3 pairs
in which 1 co-twin had a TG value >400 mg/dL were excluded from the
analysis.
Because parental data are not available in this twin study, observed
allele sharing between co-twins represents identical by
state (IBS) rather than identical by descant (IBD). IBD can be
estimated from IBS by the allele frequencies.12
Because there were no frequency differences for the CETP
alleles if 1 twin or both co-twins were used, in this
analysis frequency was based on both co-twins. To evaluate IBS
data directly, twin pairs were also stratified into those sharing 2, 1,
and 0 CETP alleles IBS. Co-twin intraclass correlations
were then calculated within these groups as described
previously.12 Commingling analysis was used
to determine whether a single or
2 normal distributions provided the
best fit to the frequency distribution of the
tetranucleotide repeat data, as reported
previously.8 Allelic association between the "short"
and "long" tetranucleotide alleles and the TaqIB
polymorphism was determined by a 3x3 table and
2 test with 4 df.
| Results |
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Complete genotype data were available on 119 twin pairs, and
the allele distribution is shown in Figure 2
. Twenty-eight alleles were
identified, with fragment sizes ranging from 324 to 464 bp, 384 bp
being the most common allele. The result of the commingling
analysis indicated that a bimodal model fit the data
significantly better than a unimodal model (P<0.001). These
results were used to determine the cut point for the designation of
"short" alleles (324 to 400 bp) and "long" alleles (404
to 464 bp) for association analyses. The frequency of the
"short" alleles was 0.38 (95% CI 0.32 to 0.44).
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Allelic Association With TaqIB
The DZ sample was also genotyped for the CETP
TaqIB polymorphism,25 and the rare allele
frequency (B2 allele) was 0.45 (95% CI 0.38 to 0.51). There was
strong linkage disequilibrium between the TaqIB polymorphism and
the biallelic designation of the tetranucleotide repeat
(
2=102.5, 4 df;
P<0.001), with the "short" allele of the
tetranucleotide repeat in allelic association with the B2
allele of the TaqIB polymorphism.
Quantitative Sib-Pair Linkage Analysis of LDL Size, ln TG,
ApoB, LDL-C, and HDL-C
The plots of the estimated proportion of alleles IBD at the
CETP locus versus squared co-twin differences in lipoprotein
phenotypes are shown in Figure 3
for LDL size, TG, and apoB, respectively. Evidence for linkage was
demonstrated for all 3 traits. The slopes for LDL size, ln TG, and
plasma levels of apoB were statistically significant, whereas those for
LDL-C and HDL-C did not reach statistical significance (Table 1
).
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Co-Twin Intraclass Correlations
Highly statistically significant co-twin intraclass correlations
for LDL size, ln TG, and apoB levels were seen (P<0.005).
These were more similar for the twins sharing 1 or 2 alleles IBS
than for those sharing no alleles (Table 2
) and might represent a
codominant or dominant effect. For LDL-C, those co-twins who shared 1
or 2 alleles showed statistically significant correlations
(P<0.02).
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| Discussion |
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6200
kb), from the CETP gene. Therefore, it could not be excluded
that this microsatellite was acting as a marker for the closely linked
lecithin:cholesterol acyltransferase (LCAT) gene
or even other unidentified genes in the region. LCAT esterifies free
cholesterol in the HDL particles and therefore is another
candidate that could determine both HDL and LDL size
heterogeneity. Allayee et al11
identified 4 additional microsatellites flanking the CETP
and LCAT genes but could not distinguish linkage to one or
the other conclusively, thus only confirming linkage of the
CETP/LCAT locus to small dense LDL in their familial
combined hyperlipidemic families. They concluded that
there is an overlap in the genetic determinants for small, dense LDL
shared among familial combined hyperlipidemic families
and those with ALP and at risk for CAD. In this study, we identified a highly polymorphic tetranucleotide repeat in the promoter of the CETP gene for use in chromosome 16 linkage analysis. Using this (gaaa)n repeat in quantitative sib-pair analysis, we identified strong evidence for linkage of the CETP gene locus with LDL size, TG levels, and apoB levels, all of which are interrelated and are features of ALP. On the basis of the latest data from the International RH Mapping Consortium (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/genemap), the CETP gene is at least 3.7 cM and at most 11.1 cM from the LCAT gene. Thus, our results conclusively confirm linkage of LDL size to the CETP gene, although we cannot exclude the fact that linkage to LCAT may still exist.
CETP Activity and LDL Size
The question whether CETP mass can be directly related to LDL size
has in part been answered by the in vitro studies of Chung et
al,27 who showed that endogenous CETP and LCAT
in plasma lipoproteins from individuals, together with exogenous
lipoprotein lipase, resulted in an alteration in LDL density and that
this effect became more pronounced as the TG content of the plasma
increased, resulting in the production of small, dense LDL.
Furthermore, Ambrosch et al28 measured CETP activity and
LDL density distribution in a group of healthy subjects and were able
to relate LDL size inversely to CETP activity, thus proving that
increasing CETP activity was associated with decreasing LDL particle
diameter. Variation in the CETP gene determines CETP
activity, with the TaqIB B2 allele being associated with lower CETP
mass29 and, in 1 study,30 11.2% lower
CETP activity. Here, we show that the "short" alleles of the
tetranucleotide repeat in strong allelic association with
the TaqIB B2 allele. Thus, by inference, the "short"
alleles are associated with lower CETP activity and mass.
Confirmation of this requires further study, but unfortunately, no
samples from these twins are available for CETP mass measures at the
present time.
Tetranucleotide Repeat and CETP Expression
The question arises whether this tetranucleotide
repeat within the CETP promoter is itself functional or is
acting as a marker for another functional variant in the promoter or
elsewhere in the gene. Because the TaqIB polymorphism is in an
intron, it is unlikely to be functional. Without the appropriate in
vitro expression studies, we cannot answer this question, but there are
precedents in the literature for hypervariable regions within
promoters being functional. The best example of this is the
variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) in the insulin gene
promoter. This VNTR is capable of transducing a transcriptional signal
by binding to the transcriptional factor Pur-1 in pancreatic ß-cells,
with long VNTRs possessing greater activity than short
VNTRs.31 A second example is the
(tttta)n repeat polymorphism in the 5'
flanking region of the lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] gene, which
has been shown to be functional,32 with constructs
containing 8 copies of the repeat showing a 5-fold increase of
transcriptional activity in vitro compared with constructs with 9
copies of the repeat.33
CETP and Lipoprotein Remodeling
CETP facilitates the exchange of neutral lipids among lipoproteins
and promotes the transfer of CE from HDL to TG-rich lipoproteins in
exchange for TG.34 Therefore, the gene for CETP
is well placed as a candidate for determining LDL size
heterogeneity. Lagrost et al35
demonstrated that CETP activity determines the size distribution of LDL
and HDL particles in normolipidemic individuals and therefore could
actively modulate LDL particle size heterogeneity.
Guerin et al36 used both qualitative and quantitative
measures of CE transfer from HDL to LDL species and found that the
capacity of LDL particles to accept CE from HDL was highly correlated
to the LDL-TG content, and this was exaggerated both in patients with
familial hypercholesterolemia37
and in those with combined
hyperlipidemia.38 Chapman et
al39 suggested that the reason small, dense LDL particles
are more pronounced in the hyperlipidemic state is
owing to the high production rates of VLDL, which results in an
increase in the TG pool, thus redirecting CE transfer from LDL to VLDL
and the preferential transfer of CE from HDL to VLDL rather than LDL.
The LDL particles thus become TG enriched, and the subsequent action of
HL on these TG-rich LDL particles converts them to small, dense
particles.
The severe atherosclerosis in transgenic mice expressing the monkey CETP gene confirms that the CETP-induced alteration in lipoprotein profile is proatherogenic.40 The association of high CETP, low HDL, and carotid artery wall thickening, identified by Foger et al,41 supports the hypothesis that high levels of CETP are indeed atherogenic. Linkage of CETP to small, dense LDL and hence to ALP therefore provides an additional mechanism for this association of CETP and CAD risk.
Rainwater et al42 identified quantitative trait loci (QTLs) on chromosome 3 (with possible linkage to APOD) and chromosome 4 (close to the MTP gene) linked to cholesterol concentration in small LDL particles, supporting a major gene effect on LDL size. By contrast, we propose that the best interpretation of the published data is that there is multigenic determination for LDL size, with genes on chromosomes 3 and 4 determining the cholesterol content of LDL subspecies and other genes such as LDL-R9 12 and APOB12 determining size by virtue of the clearance rates of LDL. CETP can now be included as a gene that determines LDL size, because it determines the CE and/or TG content of the particles. A better understanding of the genetic determinants of small, dense LDL and ALP may lead to genetic tests for predisposition to CAD and the development of novel therapeutic approaches to reduce levels of small, dense LDL and thus to reduce risk of CAD.
| Acknowledgments |
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Received October 18, 1999; revision received December 16, 1999; accepted December 22, 1999.
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