Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 5, 2026

Targeted Next-generation Sequencing and Bioinformatics Pipeline to Evaluate Genetic Determinants of Constitutional Disease
Published on: April 4, 2018
Differential effect of the rs4149056 variant in SLCO1B1 on myopathy associated with simvastatin and atorvastatin
L R Brunham1, P J Lansberg, L Zhang
1Centre for Molecular Medicine and Therapeutics, Child and Family Research Institute, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Abstract:
Statins reduce cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in appropriately selected patients. However, statin-associated myopathy is a significant risk associated with these agents. Recently, variation in the SLCO1B1 gene was reported to predict simvastatin-associated myopathy. The aim of this study was to replicate association of the rs4149056 variant in SLCO1B1 with severe statin-associated myopathy in a cohort of patients using a variety of statin medications and to investigate the association with specific statin types. We identified 25 cases of severe statin-associated myopathy and 84 controls matched for age, gender, statin type and dose. The rs4149056 variant in SLCO1B1 was not significantly associated with myopathy in this group as a whole. However, when subjects were stratified by statin type, the SLCO1B1 rs4149056 genotype was significantly associated with myopathy in patients who received simvastatin, but not in patients who received atorvastatin. Our findings provide further support for a role for SLCO1B1 genotype in simvastatin-associated myopathy, and suggest that this association may be stronger for simvastatin compared with atorvastatin.
Related Concept Videos
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Transporters: P-Glycoprotein and Solute Carrier Transporters
Pharmacogenetic Phenotypes: Alterations in Pharmacokinetics, Drug Targets and Biologic Milieu
Principles of Pharmacogenetics: Types of Genetic Variants
Pharmacogenetics of Drug Targets: β₂-Adrenergic Receptors, Apo E, Thymidylate Synthase
Lipid-Lowering Drugs: Statins and Miscellaneous Agents
Pharmacogenomics: Identification of New Drug Targets
