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Abstract Background Nitric oxide is a key molecule not only in the cardiovascular system, but also in the metabolic-endocrine system. The purpose of this study was to examine possible associations of the NOS3 T-786C polymorphism (rs2070744) with serum lipid levels on the basis of lifestyle factors for tailoring prevention of dyslipidemia. Methods For this cross-sectional study, a total of 2226 subjects aged 35 to 69 years (1084 men and 1142 women) were selected from Japanese participants in the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort (J-MICC) Study. They were recruited in eight areas throughout Japan between February 2004 and November 2008. Results In a stratified analysis by leisure-time physical activity, the likelihood of hypertriglyceridemia (serum triglyceride levels ≥ 150 mg/dL) among subjects with the C allele was significantly lower than those without it in the active group (OR = 0.43, 95% CI = 0.22-0.84 in the fasting group), but not in the sedentary group. A gene-environment interaction between the T-786C polymorphism and leisure-time physical activity for hypertriglyceridemia was significant (P = 0.007 in the fasting group). Additionally, serum triglyceride levels (mean ± SD) across leisure-time physical activity classes decreased significantly only in the TC + CC genotype group (111 ± 60 mg/dL for sedentary, 95 ± 48 mg/dL for moderately active, 88 ± 44 mg/dL for very active, P for trend = 0.008 in the fasting group), but not in the TT genotype group. Total cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol levels had no significant association with the polymorphism. Conclusions This study suggests that the NOS3 T-786C polymorphism modifies the effect of leisure-time physical activity on serum triglyceride levels.

Patients who develop cardiac hypertrophy in middle age or old age may have a gene mutation in cardiac myosin-binding protein C. This protein along with others maintains the structure of heart muscle cells. Researchers used DNA analysis to analyze the gene for cardiac myosin-binding protein C in 16 people who had been diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition caused by overgrowth of parts of the heart. Twelve mutations were found that had never before been identified. A total of 212 family members of these patients also had the mutation but only 58% under the age of 50 had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Background/Objective: Gene-gene interactions in the reverse cholesterol transport system for high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol (HDL-C) are poorly understood. The present study observed gene-gene combination effect and interactions between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in ABCA1, APOA1, SR-B1, and CETP in serum HDL-C from a cross-sectional study in the Japanese population. Methods: The study population comprised 1,535 men and 1,515 women aged 35–69 years who were enrolled in the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort (J-MICC) Study. We selected 13 SNPs in the ABCA1, APOA1, CETP, and SR-B1 genes in the reverse cholesterol transport system. The effects of genetic and environmental factors were assessed using general linear and logistic regression models after adjusting for age, sex, and region. Principal Findings: Alcohol consumption and daily activity were positively associated with HDL-C levels, whereas smoking had a negative relationship. The T allele of CETP, rs3764261, was correlated with higher HDL-C levels and had the highest coefficient (2.93 mg/dL/allele) among the 13 SNPs, which was statistically significant after applying the Bonferroni correction (p<0.001). Gene-gene combination analysis revealed that CETP rs3764261 was associated with high HDL-C levels with any combination of SNPs from ABCA1, APOA1, and SR-B1, although no gene-gene interaction was apparent. An increasing trend for serum HDL-C was also observed with an increasing number of alleles (p<0.001). Conclusions: The present study identified a multiplier effect from a polymorphism in CETP with ABCA1, APOA1, and SR-B1, as well as a dose-dependence according to the number of alleles present. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is well known as a strong risk factor for both of end-stage renal disease and cardiovascular disease. To clarify the associations of MTHFR, MTR, and MTRR polymorphisms with the risk of CKD in Japanese, we examined this association among Japanese subjects using cross-sectional data. Methods: The subjects for this analysis were 3,318 participants consecutively selected from the Japan Multi-institutional Collaborative Cohort (J-MICC) Study. The polymorphisms were genotyped by a multiplex polymerase chain reaction-based Invader assay. Age- and sex-adjusted odds ratio (aOR) of CKD with stage 3–5 was calculated for each genotype. Results: When those with MTHFR C677T C/ C were defined as references, those with MTHFR C677T C/ T and T/ T demonstrated the aORs for CKD of 1.14 (95 % CI 0.93–1.40) and 1.39 (1.06–1.82), respectively. Marginally significantly decreased risk of CKD with increasing number of MTR A2756G G allele ( p = 0.058) was observed. Stratified analyses by plasma folate low (<7.4 ng/ml) or high (≥7.4 ng/ml) suggested significantly higher OR of CKD for those with MTHFR C677T T/ T and low serum folate with the aOR of 2.07 (95 % CI 1.30–3.31) compared with that for those with MTHFR C677T T/ T and high serum folate. Conclusions: The present study found a significant association between the subjects with the T/ T genotype of MTHFR C677T polymorphism and the elevated risk of CKD, which may suggest the possibility of the risk evaluation and prevention of this potentially life-threatening disease based on genetic traits in the near future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Uncovering population structure is important for properly conducting association studies and for examining the demographic history of a population. Here, we examined the Japanese population substructure using data from the Japan Multi-Institutional Collaborative Cohort (J-MICC), which covers all but the northern region of Japan. Using 222 autosomal loci from 4502 subjects, we investigated population substructure by estimating FST among populations, testing population differentiation, and performing principal component analysis (PCA) and correspondence analysis (CA). All analyses revealed a low but significant differentiation between the Amami Islanders and the mainland Japanese population. Furthermore, we examined the genetic differentiation between the mainland population, Amami Islanders and Okinawa Islanders using six loci included in both the Pan-Asian SNP (PASNP) consortium data and the J-MICC data. This analysis revealed that the Amami and Okinawa Islanders were differentiated from the mainland population. In conclusion, we revealed a low but significant level of genetic differentiation between the mainland population and populations in or to the south of the Amami Islands, although genetic variation between both populations might be clinal. Therefore, the possibility of population stratification must be considered when enrolling the islander population of this area, such as in the J-MICC study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]