AGE, RACE, SEX AND AORTIC STIFFNESS--GENETIC MARKERS

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DESCRIPTION: (Adapted from Investigator's Abstract) Aging affects vascular cell function and arterial wall composition/structure which contributes to vascular stiffness and its underlying role as a risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in the elderly. Age-related vascular stiffness is commensurate with a progressive increase in systolic blood pressure, atherosclerosis, matrix remodeling, CAD and eventual MI. Impaired blood fibrinolysis will initiate early fibrin deposition, atherogenesis, CAD, and CAD-associated vascular stiffness, resulting in atherothrombotic-occlusive events. CAD risk factors are associated with impaired blood fibrinolytic activity by altering the expression and/or activity of one or more of the fibrinolytic proteins. These proteins play an essential role in CAD-associated arterial matrix remodeling and consequentially also age-related CAD-associated vascular stiffness. The overall goal of this proposed study is to determine whether identification of specific genotypes or genotypic combinations of fibrinolytic proteins in conjunction with identifiable risk factors or risk factor-associated components (i.e., HTG-VLDL, Lp[a], insulin, homocysteine) may simultaneously identify categories of combined pathogenetic risk for atherosclerosis/CAD and age-related CAD-associated aortic stiffness. This case-control study will be carried out with a racial/gender mix of 1,640 subjects with angiographically identifiable CAD (>50% stenosis, 820 cases) and without CAD (normal coronary arteries) or CAD symptoms (820 controls). Specific studies will include the following: recruitment of cases/controls (Aim 1); identification of the mutation sites in the PA1-1 and u-PA genes to facilitate more cost-effective genotype analysis by PCR (Aim 2); determination of the amount/degree of aortic stiffness in all cases/controls, using Doppler ultrasound (pulse wave velocity) (Aim 3); determination of fibrinolytic protein genotypes (restriction fragment length polymorphisms, RFLPs) (Aim 4) and fibrinolytic protein antigen/activity, including Lp(a) and homocysteine levels, in case/control-derived blood samples (Aim 5); and finally, the multifactorial determination and statistical analysis of age-related CAD-associated aortic stiffness (Aim 6). The investigators state that the results gleaned from these studies will identify new fibrinolytic protein genotypes as mediators of environmental risk for CAD and further help to identify individuals at increased risk for age-related CAD-associated aortic stiffness, resulting in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality.