<i>BIRC6</i> Is Associated with Vulnerability of Carotid Atherosclerotic Plaque

Abstract

Carotid atherosclerotic plaque rupture can lead to cerebrovascular accident (CVA). By comparing RNA-Seq data from vascular smooth muscle cells (VSMC) extracted from carotid atheroma surgically excised from a group of asymptomatic and symptomatic subjects, we identified more than 700 genomic variants associated with symptomatology (p BIRC6 (BRUCE/Apollon) gene, rs35286811, emerged as significantly associated with CVA symptomatology (p = 0.002; OR = 2.24). Moreover, BIRC6 mRNA levels were significantly higher in symptomatic than asymptomatic subjects upon measurement by qPCR in excised carotid atherosclerotic tissue (p p p BIRC6 as a novel genetic risk factor for stroke, and identifies autophagy as a genetically regulated mechanism of carotid plaque vulnerability.

Keywords

• atherosclerosis
• carotid plaque
• <i>BIRC6</i>
• autophagy
• red cell distribution width
• stroke