Genetic variation within the Y chromosome is not associated with histological characteristics of the atherosclerotic carotid artery or aneurysmal wall

Saskia Haitjema, Jessica van Setten, James Eales, Sander W van der Laan, Ilaria Gandin, Jean-Paul P M de Vries, Gert J de Borst, Gerard Pasterkamp, Folkert W Asselbergs, Fadi J Charchar, James F Wilson, Saskia C A de Jager, Maciej Tomaszewski, Hester M den Ruijter

Research output: Contribution to journalArticleAcademicpeer-review

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Haplogroup I, a common European paternal lineage of the Y chromosome, is associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease in British men. It is unclear whether this haplogroup or any other haplogroup on the Y chromosome is associated with histological characteristics of the diseased vessel wall in other vascular manifestations of cardiovascular diseases showing a male preponderance.

METHODS: We examined Dutch men undergoing either carotid endarterectomy from the Athero-Express biobank (AE, n = 1217) or open aneurysm repair from the Aneurysm-Express biobank (AAA, n = 393). Upon resolving the Y chromosome phylogeny, each man was assigned to one of the paternal lineages based on combinations of single nucleotide polymorphisms of the male-specific region of the Y chromosome. We examined the associations between the Y chromosome and the histological characteristics of the carotid plaque and aneurysm wall, including lipid content, leukocyte infiltration and intraplaque haemorrhage, in all men.

RESULTS: A majority of men were carriers of either haplogroup I (AE: 28% AAA: 24%) or haplogroup R (AE: 59% AAA: 61%). We found no association between Y chromosomal haplogroups and histological characteristics of plaque collected from carotid arteries or tissue specimens of aneurysms. Moreover, the distribution of frequency for all Y chromosomal haplogroups in both cohorts was similar to that of a general population of Dutch men.

CONCLUSIONS: Our data show that genetic variation on the Y chromosome is not associated with histological characteristics of the plaques from carotid arteries or specimens of aneurysms in men of Dutch origin.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)114-119
Number of pages6
JournalAtherosclerosis
Volume259
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Apr 2017

Keywords

  • Aneurysm
  • Carotid endarterectomy
  • Haplogroups
  • Histology
  • Men
  • Plaque characteristics
  • Y chromosome

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