Utility of several microsatellite markers for the genetic characterisation of three ex situ populations of threatened caprine taxa (<i>Capra aegagrus</i>, <i>C. cylindricornis</i> and <i>C. falconeri</i>)

Abstract. Caprines belong to the most endangered group of mammals and artiodactyls suffering from many negative human impacts. Fortunately, many of them are protected and managed by national and international legislation and in situ and ex situ conservation actions. Although many microsatellite markers have been developed for wild and domestic caprines, they remain uninvestigated in respect of their utility for some taxa. We examined the utility of the International Society for Animal Genetics microsatellite set for genetic characterisations of three wild and one domestic Capra species from captive or semi-captive ex situ populations in Europe. Our data suggest the utility of this microsatellite set for detecting shared and species-specific alleles, characterising the genetic variability, and determining phylogenetic relationships and intraspecific structures in investigated taxa. We detected a depleted genetic variability in Capra falconeri and Capra cylindricornis in European ex situ populations; unrelated individuals are therefore needed for improving genetic variability parameters, as they are for the extralimital population of Capra aegagrus in the Vřísek game reserve (Czech Republic), for which we identified no genetic introgression from the domestic goat and great dissimilarity with some analysed individuals from European zoos. Current results here indicate some difficulties with the historical evidence, for example with respect to the origin and purity of particular individuals under breeding programmes.

Rs6922269 marker at the MTHFD1L gene predict cardiovascular mortality in males after acute coronary syndrome

Myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading cause of death in industrialized countries. All the traditional risk factors for MI are responsible for approximately 50% of cases of MI cases. Attention therefore has recently focused on genetic variants that are not associated with conventional risk factors. One of them is the marker rs6922269, which has been suggested as a risk factor for development of MI in Western populations. We analyzed the relationship between rs6922269 variant on MTHFD1L gene and (i) risk of the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in the Czech population and (ii) mortality in 7 years follow up. Rs6922269 (G>A) variant was analyzed (CR 99.3% for patients and 98.0% for controls) by PCR-RFLP in consecutively examined 1614 men and 503 women with ACS (age below 65 years) and in population-based controls--1191 men and 1368 women (aged up to 65 years). ANOVA and Chi square were used for statistical analysis. The genotype frequencies were almost identical (P=0.87) in the ACS patients and in controls and no differences were observed, if males (P=0.73) and females (P=0.93) were analysed separately. In addition, rs6922269 polymorphism was not associated with the classical risk factors (dyslipidemia, hypertension, obesity, smoking, diabetes) in control population. Cardiovascular mortality was significantly higher in males, carriers of the AA genotype (P<0.001, OR 2.52, 95% CI 1.40-4.55, for AA vs. +G). We conclude, that rs6922269 variant at MTHFD1L gene could be an important prognostic factor for cardiovascular mortality in patients after ACS.

Association between a marker on chromosome 9 and acute coronary syndrome. confirmatory study on Czech population

Myocardial infarction (MI) is the leading cause of death in industrialized countries. All the classical risk factors for MI are responsible for approximately 50 % of MI cases. Attention has therefore recently been attracted to those genetic variants that are not associated with conventional risk factors. One of them is the marker rs10757274 in the "genefree" zone on chromosome 9, which has been repeatedly recognized as a risk factor for development of MI in Western populations. We analysed the relationship between the rs10757274 variant on chromosome 9 and risk of the acute coronary syndrome (ACS) in Czech population. The rs10757274 (A > G) variant was successfully analysed (CR = 99.4 % for patients and 98.4 % for controls) by PCR-RFLP in consecutively examined 1,046 men and 281 women with ACS (age below 65 years) and in population-based controls - 1,162 men and 1,355 women (aged up to 65 years). ANOVA and χ2 were used for statistical analysis. We confirmed that GG homozygotes are more frequent (codominant model of analysis) among patients with myocardial infarction than in the control group both in men (28.5 % vs. 22.0 %, P = 0.0001, OR 1.73, 95 % CI 1.36-2.19) and women (32.0 % vs. 24.6 %, P = 0.02, OR 1.62, 95 % CI 1.13-2.34). However, rs10757274 polymorphism was not associated with the classical risk factors either in control population or in ACS patients. We conclude that the rs10757274 variant at 9p23.1 is an important genetic risk factor for ACS development in the Czech population.

Why we are not able to find the coronary heart disease gene - apoE as an example

The apoprotein E gene ranks among the most discussed candidate genes for cardiovascular disease. We studied whether the association between apoprotein E gene polymorphism and manifestation of acute coronary syndrome is modulated by the presence/absence of traditional cardiovascular risk factors. The population under study were 1066 patients (men under 65 years) admitted between 2006- 2009 to five coronary care units in Prague (GENetic DEtermination of Myocardial Infarction in Prague) and the control population (1066 age-matched men selected from the Czech population sample). The frequency of disadvantage genotype E4+ was significantly higher (P < 0.01) in acute coronary syndrome patients (22.38 %) than in controls (16.76 %). When the acute coronary syndrome group was step by step limited to non-smokers, non-diabetics and normotensive individuals, the odds ratio displayed a gradual increase from 1.35 (for the entire group) through 1.48 (non-smokers), 1.53 (non-smokers+non-diabetics) to 1.71 (non-smokers+non-diabetics+normotensives). The effect of the apoprotein E gene on the individual risk of acute coronary syndrome is nonhomogenous within the patient groups. This association of apoprotein E gene with acute coronary syndrome is strongly modified by the presence/absence of traditional cardiovascular factors of atherosclerosis in a high-risk Czech population.

Lack of an association between connexin-37, stromelysin-1, plasminogen activator-inhibitor type 1 and lymphotoxin-alpha genes and acute coronary syndrome in Czech Caucasians

BACKGROUND

The majority of acute coronary syndrome (ACS) cases cannot be explained by the analysis of commonly recognized risk factors; thus, the analysis of possible genetic predispositions is of interest. The genes for connexin-37, stromelysin-1, plasminogen activator-inhibitor type 1 (PAI-1) and lymphotoxin-alpha are among many presently known candidate genes that are associated with risk factors for ACS.

OBJECTIVE

To identify the potential impact of the functional variants of connexin-37, stromelysin-1, PAI-1 and lymphotoxin-alpha on ACS in a Caucasian Czech population.

METHODS

A total of 1399 consecutive patients (1016 men and 383 women) with ACS from five coronary care units located in Prague (Czech Republic) were analyzed; a representative sample of 2559 healthy individuals (1191 men and 1368 women) were also genotyped and served as controls.

RESULTS

The gene variants analyzed were not significantly associated with the prevalence of ACS or the classical risk factors of ACS development such as high plasma lipid levels, hypertension, diabetes, high body mass index or smoking.

CONCLUSION

In a Caucasian Czech population sample, genetic variants of connexin-37, stromelysin-1, PAI-1 and lymphotoxin-alpha were not significantly associated with a predisposition toward ACS.