Molecular basis of autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia: assessment in a large cohort of hypercholesterolemic children.
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van der Graaf A, Avis HJ, Kusters DM, Vissers MN, Hutten BA, Defesche JC, Huijgen R, Fouchier SW, Wijburg FA, Kastelein JJ, Wiegman A
Molecular basis of autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia: assessment in a large cohort of hypercholesterolemic children.
Circulation. 2011 Mar 22;123(11):1167-73. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.110.979450. Epub 2011 Mar 7.
- PubMed ID
- 21382890 [ View in PubMed]
- Abstract
BACKGROUND: Autosomal dominant hypercholesterolemia (ADH) is characterized by elevated low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels and premature cardiovascular disease. Mutations in the genes encoding for low-density lipoprotein receptor (LDLR), apolipoprotein B (APOB), and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin 9 (PCSK9) underlie ADH. Nevertheless, a proportion of individuals who exhibit the ADH phenotype do not carry mutations in any of these 3 genes. Estimates of the percentage of such cases among the ADH phenotype vary widely. We therefore investigated a large pediatric population with an unequivocal ADH phenotype to assess the molecular basis of hereditary hypercholesterolemia and to define the percentage of individuals with unexplained dyslipidemia. METHODS AND RESULTS: We enrolled individuals with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels above the 95th percentile for age and gender and an autosomal dominant inheritance pattern of hypercholesterolemia from a large referred pediatric cohort of 1430 children. We excluded children with thyroid dysfunction, nephrotic syndrome, autoimmune disease, liver disease, primary biliary cirrhosis, and obesity (body mass index >75th percentile for age and gender), as well as children referred via a cascade screening program and those from families with a known molecular diagnosis. Of the 269 children who remained after the exclusion criteria were applied, 255 (95%) carried a functional mutation (LDLR, 95%; APOB, 5%). CONCLUSION: In the vast majority of children with an ADH phenotype, a causative mutation can be identified, strongly suggesting that most of the large-effect genes underlying ADH are known to date.