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ABSTRACT:
Objective: The aim of this paper is to explore whether BBB is heritable, and whether polymorphisms at connexin 40 and connexin 43 loci are associated with BBB.
Methods: To assess BBB heritability, we screened descendants of men with BBB in the population cohort 'The Study of Men Born 1913'. DNA samples from 80-year-old men with extreme QRS-duration phenotypes were used to search for polymorphisms at connexin 40 and 43 loci. Associations between identified polymorphisms and BBB were evaluated in an independent cohort (INTERGENE).
Results: Seventy-seven men from 'The Study of Men Born 1913' with BBB had 116 descendants. Among the 76 participating descendants, 2 sons (6.4%) had BBB at 54?years of age. At the same age, 0.9% of men born in 1913 had BBB. We identified 6 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in connexin 40 and 1 polymorphism in connexin 43. In the INTERGENE cohort, the connexin 43 polymorphism was associated with left BBB (LBBB) (4 of 35 LBBB vs 16 of 232 without BBB, ?(2)=7.4, p=0.03), but not with right BBB (RBBB) or overall BBB. None of the connexin 40 SNPs or haplotypes were associated with LBBB or RBBB.
Conclusions: These findings indicate that conduction by connexin 43 within the ventricular muscle distal to the specialised conduction system may be important for LBBB development.
SUBMITTER: Ladenvall P
PROVIDER: S-EPMC4395834 | biostudies-literature | 2015
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
Ladenvall Per P Andersson Björn B Dellborg Mikael M Hansson Per-Olof PO Eriksson Henry H Thelle Dag D Eriksson Peter P
Open heart 20150410 1
<h4>Background</h4>Bundle branch block (BBB) has been regarded as a disease of the conduction system, but occurs in mice lacking connexin 40 (expressed in atria, proximal conduction system) or connexin 43 (expressed in Purkinje cells, cardiomyocytes).<h4>Objective</h4>The aim of this paper is to explore whether BBB is heritable, and whether polymorphisms at connexin 40 and connexin 43 loci are associated with BBB.<h4>Methods</h4>To assess BBB heritability, we screened descendants of men with BBB ...[more]