Results of research study on the expression of KIF6 in mouse model
November 01, 2017
The association between KIF6 and event reduction during pravastatin (Pravachol?®) therapy has been demonstrated previously in three prospective, placebo-controlled randomized clinical trials on the prevention of CHD events: the secondary prevention Cholesterol and Recurrent Events (CARE) study; the primary prevention West of Scotland Coronary Prevention Study (WOSCOPS); and the PROspective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER) study. Additionally, a genetic study of PROVE IT-TIMI 22 reported that in patients after an acute coronary syndrome (ACS), high-dose atorvastatin (Lipitor?®), compared with standard dose pravastatin, was significantly more effective at reducing CHD events in KIF6 carriers than in noncarriers. To date, the benefits of statin therapy for KIF6 carriers has only been demonstrated with atorvastatin and pravastatin therapy.
The KIF6 gene variant has also been reported to predict risk of CHD in prospective population studies. This gene variant was associated with increased risk of CHD in Caucasian and African American participants of the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study (a study of 12,556 middle aged Americans), and with increased risk for myocardial infarction (MI) in both the Cardiovascular Health Study (a study of 4,522 Americans, aged 65 or older), and the Women's Health Study (a study of 25,283 women older than 45 years without a previous history of CHD). Thus, this KIF6 gene variant has been investigated in studies that included a total of approximately 55,000 people.
In a case-control analysis of subjects in the Ottawa Heart Study, no association was found between KIF6 and >50% coronary artery narrowing, which is a different clinical endpoint than the acute CHD event end point examined in the other KIF6 studies referenced above. Furthermore, 89% of the cases in the Ottawa Study were on statin therapy, which Celera believes may have suppressed the excess risk of KIF6 carriers.
The increased risk of CHD events observed in KIF6 carriers has been shown to be independent of other well-known CHD risk factors, including smoking, hypertension, cholesterol level, age, and sex, further supporting the conclusion that the KIF6 gene variant is an independent predictor of risk for CHD.
SOURCE Celera Corporation