Risk Alleles of USF1 Gene Predict Cardiovascular Disease of Women in Two Prospective Studies

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Abstract
Upstream transcription factor 1 (USF1) is a ubiquitously expressed transcription factor controlling several critical genes in lipid and glucose metabolism. Of some 40 genes regulated by USF1, several are involved in the molecular pathogenesis of cardiovascular disease (CVD). Although the USF1 gene has been shown to have a critical role in the etiology of familial combined hyperlipidemia, which predisposes to early CVD, the gene's potential role as a risk factor for CVD events at the population level has not been established. Here we report the results from a prospective genetic–epidemiological study of the association between the USF1 variants, CVD, and mortality in two large Finnish cohorts. Haplotype-tagging single nucleotide polymorphisms exposing all common allelic variants of USF1 were genotyped in a prospective case-cohort design with two distinct cohorts followed up during 1992–2001 and 1997–2003. The total number of follow-up years was 112,435 in 14,140 individuals, of which 2,225 were selected for genotyping based on the case-cohort study strategy. After adjustment for conventional risk factors, we observed an association of USF1 with CVD and mortality among females. In combined analysis of the two cohorts, female carriers of a USF1 risk haplotype had a 2-fold risk of a CVD event (hazard ratio [HR] 2.02; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.16–3.53; p = 0.01) and an increased risk of all-cause mortality (HR 2.52; 95% CI 1.46–4.35; p = 0.0009). A putative protective haplotype of USF1 was also identified. Our study shows how a gene identified in exceptional families proves to be important also at the population level, implying that allelic variants of USF1 significantly influence the prospective risk of CVD and even all-cause mortality in females. Better characterization of molecular events resulting in cardiovascular disease (CVD) requires elucidation of genetic background of CVD. After a CVD candidate gene is identified in family-based studies or case-control studies, population-based prospective studies are needed to demonstrate any potential impact of allelic variants on the CVD risk at the population level. This study addresses the role of different alleles of the upstream transcription factor 1 (USF1) gene, encoding a transcription factor and originally associated with familial combined hyperlipidemia in rare families with multiple affected individuals. The product of USF1 regulates numerous genes of lipid and glucose metabolism, and the authors show in large population cohorts that specific alleles of USF1 are associated with the risk of CVD and all-cause mortality among females. The study implies an interesting female-specific risk effect, and should stimulate additional studies of the sex-specific CVD risk genes in different populations.