Variants in the GPR146 Gene Are Associated With a Favorable Cardiometabolic Risk Profile

Antoine Rimbert*, Ming W Yeung, Nawar Dalila, Chris H L Thio, Haojie Yu, Natalia Loaiza, Federico Oldoni, Adriaan van der Graaf, Siqi Wang, M Abdullah Said, Lisanne L Blauw, Aurore Girardeau, Lise Bray, Amandine Caillaud, Vincent W Bloks, Marie Marrec, Philippe Mouli, Patrick C N Rensen, Bart van de Sluis, Harold SniederMathilde Di Filippo, Pim van der Harst, Anne Tybjaerg-Hansen, Philippe Zimmerman, Bertrand Cariou, Jan Kuivenhoven

*Corresponding author for this work

Abstract

BACKGROUND: In mice, GPR146 (G-protein-coupled receptor 146) deficiency reduces plasma lipids and protects against atherosclerosis. Whether these findings translate to humans is unknown.

METHODS: Common and rare genetic variants in the GPR146 gene locus were used as research instruments in the UK Biobank. The Lifelines, The Copenhagen-City Heart Study, and a cohort of individuals with familial hypobetalipoproteinemia were used to find and study rare GPR146 variants.

RESULTS: In the UK Biobank, carriers of the common rs2362529-C allele present with lower low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apo (apolipoprotein) B, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, apoAI, CRP (C-reactive protein), and plasma liver enzymes compared with noncarriers. Carriers of the common rs1997243-G allele, associated with higher GPR146 expression, present with the exact opposite phenotype. The associations with plasma lipids of the above alleles are allele dose-dependent. Heterozygote carriers of a rare coding variant (p.Pro62Leu; n=2615), predicted to be damaging, show a stronger reductions in the above parameters compared with carriers of the common rs2362529-C allele. The p.Pro62Leu variant is furthermore shown to segregate with low low-density lipoprotein cholesterol in a family with familial hypobetalipoproteinemia. Compared with controls, carriers of the common rs2362529-C allele show a marginally reduced risk of coronary artery disease (P=0.03) concomitant with a small effect size on low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (average decrease of 2.24 mg/dL in homozygotes) of this variant. Finally, mendelian randomization analyses suggest a causal relationship between GPR146 gene expression and plasma lipid and liver enzyme levels.

CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that carriers of new genetic GPR146 variants have a beneficial cardiometabolic risk profile, but it remains to be shown whether genetic or pharmaceutical inhibition of GPR146 protects against atherosclerosis in humans.

Original languageEnglish
JournalArteriosclerosis, Thrombosis, and Vascular Biology
Volume42
Issue number10
Pages (from-to)1262-1271
Number of pages10
ISSN1079-5642
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Oct 2022

Keywords

  • Animals
  • Apolipoproteins B/genetics
  • Atherosclerosis/genetics
  • C-Reactive Protein
  • Cholesterol, HDL
  • Cholesterol, LDL
  • Humans
  • Hypobetalipoproteinemias/genetics
  • Mice
  • Pharmaceutical Preparations
  • Receptors, G-Protein-Coupled/genetics

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