ARTICLE: A Genetic Risk Score Associated with COPD Susceptibility and Lung Structure on Computed Tomography
AUTHORS: Elizabeth C Oelsner, Victor E Ortega, Benjamin M. Smith, Jennifer N. Nguyen, Ani W Manichaikul, Eric A. Hoffman, Xiuqing Guo, Kent D Taylor, Prescott G Woodruff, David J Couper, Nadia N Hansel, Fernando J. Martinez, Robert Paine III, MeiLan K Han, Christopher Cooper, Mark T Dransfield, Gerard Criner, Jerry A Krishnan, Russell Bowler, Eugene R Bleecker, Stephen Peters, Stephen S. Rich, Deborah A Meyers, Jerome I. Rotter and R. Graham Barr
JOURNAL: Am J Respir Crit Care Med. 2019 Mar 29. doi: 10.1164/rccm.201812-2355OC. [Epub ahead of print]
Abstract
RATIONALE: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) has been associated with numerous genetic variants, yet the extent to which its genetic risk is mediated by variation in lung structure remains unknown.
OBJECTIVES: To characterize associations between a genetic risk score (GRS) associated with COPD susceptibility and lung structure on computed tomography (CT).
METHODS: We analyzed data from the Multi-Ethnic Study of Atherosclerosis (MESA) Lung Study, a US general population-based cohort, and SPIROMICS, a study of COPD. A weighted GRS was calculated from 83 single nucleotide polymorphisms previously associated with lungfunction. Lung density, spatially-matched airway dimensions, and airway counts were assessed on full-lung CT. Generalized linear models were adjusted for age, age-squared, sex, height , principal components of genetic ancestry, smoking status, pack-years, CT model, milliamperes, and total lung volume.
MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: MESA Lung and SPIROMICS contributed 2,517 and 2,339 participants, respectively. Higher GRS was associated with lower lung function and increased COPD risk, as well as lower lung density, smaller airway lumens, and fewer small airways, without effect modification by smoking. Adjustment for CT lung structure, particularly small airways measures, attenuated associations between the GRS and FEV1/FVC by 100% and 60% in MESA and SPIROMICS, respectively. Lung structure (P<.0001), but not the GRS (P>.10), improved discrimination of moderate-to-severe COPD cases relative to clinical factors alone.
CONCLUSIONS: A GRS associated with COPD susceptibility was associated with CT lung structure. Lung structure may be an important mediator of heritability and determinant of personalized COPD risk.
For a link to the full article, click here: https://www.atsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1164/rccm.201812-2355OC
Link to abstract online: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30925230
