A genome scan for ESRD in black families enriched for nondiabetic nephropathy

Nephropathy is a complex disorder, with predisposition influenced by the interplay of both genetic and environmental factors. As part of an effort to map genes that predispose to ESRD, a genome scan was performed in 264 black pedigrees that contained 296 ESRD-affected sibling pairs using multipoint nonparametric linkage analysis methods. The cause of ESRD in index cases was consistent with hypertension-associated ESRD. Nonparametric linkage (NPL) regression provided modest evidence of linkage to 9p21.3 near D9S1121 (logarithm of odds [LOD] = 2.03), 1q25.1 near D1S1589 (LOD = 1.62), and 13q33.3 near D13S796 (LOD = 1.02). Adjusting for the evidence of linkage at the other loci through the NPL regression analysis provided evidence for linkage to 1q25.1, 6p23, and 9p21.3. The NPL regression and ordered subset analyses suggest that the evidence for linkage significantly increased with early onset of ESRD (2q32.1 LOD = 3.89, 13q13.1 LOD = 3.90), increased BMI (8p22 LOD = 3.37, 13q33.3 LOD = 5.20, 18p11.3 LOD = 2.38), early onset of hypertension (14q21.1 LOD = 3.19, 20q13.2 LOD = 2.32), and late onset of hypertension (4q13.1 LOD = 3.44, 5p15.33 LOD = 2.82). Multipoint single-locus linkage analysis provided modest evidence of linkage to nondiabetic ESRD on 9p21.3, 1q25.1 (in the region of the podocin gene), and 13q33.3. NPL regression and ordered subset analyses also identified loci on 13q13.1 and 13q33.3 as contributing to early-onset ESRD and ESRD in the presence of increased BMI, respectively. These regions should receive priority in the search for loci that contribute susceptibility to nondiabetic nephropathy.