The Y Chromosome's Possible Role in Cardiovascular disease (CVD) Among Men

Abstract

Description: (CVD which kills thousands each year may be passed genetically from father to son, according to a study published in February 9 issue of The Lancet. The study shows that the Y chromosome plays a role in the inheritance of coronary artery disease (CAD). The study, led by researchers at the University's Department of Cardiovascular Sciences and Department of Genetics, took four years to complete and was primarily funded by the British Heart Foundation besides being supported by the National Institute for Health Research, LEW Cart Charitable Fund, National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, the European Union, and the Wellcome Trust. The team at the University of Leicester analysed DNA from over 3,000 men from British Heart Foundation Family Heart Study (BHF-FHS) and the West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS). The researchers found that, of nine haplogroups identified, 90 per cent of British Y chromosomes belong to one of two major groups -named haplogroup I and haplogroup R1b1b2. The risk of CAD among men who carry a Y chromosome from haplogroup I was 50 percent higher age-adjusted risk of coronary artery disease than did men with other Y chromosome lineages in BHF-FHS, and the risk was independent of traditional risk factors such as high cholesterol, high blood pressure and smoking, and socioeconomic risk factors. Analysis of macrophage transcriptome in the Cardiogenics Study revealed that 19 molecular pathways showing strong differential expression between men with haplogroup I and other lineages of the Y chromosome were interconnected by common genes related to inflammation and immunity, and that some of them have a strong relevance to atherosclerosis. The researchers believe the increased risk is down to the haplogroup I's influence on the immune system and inflammation, that is how our bodies respond to infections. The major novelty of these findings is that the human Y chromosome appears to play a role in the cardiovascular system beyond its traditionally perceived determination of male sex. (The Lancet 2012; 379(9819):915 – 922) ) JMS: 2012;15(1):85-86