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Genetic Insights Into Coronary Microvascular Disease
Nicole Wayne1, Venkata S Singamneni1, Rasika Venkatesh2
1Department of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Insights
Genetic studies offer insights into coronary microvascular disease (CMVD). Research suggests existing coronary artery disease (CAD) genetic data may illuminate CMVD causes and potential therapies.
Area of Science:
- Cardiovascular Genetics
- Genomics
- Translational Medicine
Background:
- Coronary microvascular disease (CMVD) impacts small coronary vessels, causing cardiac ischemia and presenting as INOCA/MINOCA.
- Current CMVD treatments are limited, lacking targeted therapies.
- Genetic studies, like genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for coronary artery disease (CAD), have identified numerous genetic loci and pathways.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review current genetic studies of CMVD, primarily genotype-first approaches.
- To propose that CAD GWAS populations are heterogeneous and could be reclassified as ischemic heart disease (IHD) GWAS.
- To explore the potential role of known CAD genetic loci in CMVD pathogenesis.
Main Methods:
- Review of existing genetic studies focusing on CMVD.
- Analysis of genome-wide association study (GWAS) data for coronary artery disease (CAD).
- Hypothesis generation regarding the overlap of genetic loci between CAD and CMVD.
Main Results:
- Current CMVD genetic research is limited and predominantly genotype-first.
- CAD GWAS data may contain relevant information for understanding CMVD.
- Several identified CAD genetic loci are hypothesized to contribute to CMVD development.
Conclusions:
- Genetic studies are crucial for advancing CMVD understanding and identifying therapeutic targets.
- Larger, phenotype-first genomic studies for CMVD are needed, ensuring diverse sex and ancestry representation.
- Leveraging existing CAD genetic and functional data can accelerate CMVD genomic research.
Abstract:
Coronary microvascular disease (CMVD) affects the coronary pre-arterioles, arterioles, and capillaries and can lead to blood supply-demand mismatch and cardiac ischemia. CMVD can present clinically as ischemia or myocardial infarction with no obstructive coronary arteries (INOCA or MINOCA, respectively). Currently, therapeutic options for CMVD are limited, and there are no targeted therapies. Genetic studies have emerged as an important tool to gain rapid insights into the molecular mechanisms of human diseases. For example, coronary artery disease (CAD) genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have enrolled hundreds of thousands of patients and have identified > 320 loci, elucidating CAD pathogenic pathways and helping to identify therapeutic targets. Here, we review the current landscape of genetic studies of CMVD, consisting mostly of genotype-first approaches. We then present the hypothesis that CAD GWAS have enrolled heterogenous populations and may be better characterized as ischemic heart disease (IHD) GWAS. We discuss how several of the genetic loci currently associated with CAD may be involved in the pathogenesis of CMVD. Genetic studies could help accelerate progress in understanding CMVD pathophysiology and identifying putative therapeutic targets. Larger phenotype-first genomic studies into CMVD with adequate sex and ancestry representation are needed. Given the extensive CAD genetic and functional validation data, future research should leverage these loci as springboards for CMVD genomic research.
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