Predictors of Spontaneous Cerebral AVM Hemorrhage

The Predictors of Spontaneous Cerebral AVM Hemorrhage study was designed to identify genetic markers that predict adverse outcomes in brain arteriovenous malformation (BAVM) patients, examine race-ethnicity influences on BAVM hemorrhage risk, and use genome-wide association analysis to identify novel genetic predictors of AVM and hemorrhage using the Affymetrix GeneChip. We performed the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) (PMID: 26818729) of sporadic BAVM to investigate association of common single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with risk of sporadic BAVM in the international, multicenter Genetics of Arteriovenous Malformation (GEN-AVM) consortium. The study included a Caucasian discovery cohort of 515 BAVM cases and 1,191 controls genotyped using Affymetrix genome-wide SNP arrays. The Phase 1 discovery cohort comprised of 338 BAVM cases (154 male) and 504 controls genotyped using the Affymetrix Genome-Wide Human SNP Array 6.0. The molecular data (individual genetic data) for the Phase 1 discovery cohort 338 BAVM cases (self-reported Caucasian) recruited at University of California, San Francisco, or Kaiser Permanente of Northern California (KPNC) are included in the dbGaP Study Report: Brain Arteriovenous Malformation Genetics Study, with the additional BAVM case phenotypic and sample attribute characteristics: sex, race, age at BAVM diagnosis, hemorrhagic presentation, BAVM size. Written informed consent was obtained from all participants and the study was approved by the respective Institutional Review Boards. The molecular dataset for this study in dbGaP is based on the genotypes obtained for the initial set of 906,600 SNPs for cases and controls called together using Birdseed v2 algorithm in Affymetrix Genotyping Console Software. The final QC'd dataset includes 717,335 markers as SNPs with MAF<0.01 or deviating from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P<0.00001) in controls were excluded. After QC, the average genotyping call rate was 99%. The discovery phase GWAS identified 57 top BAVM-associated SNPs which were tested in a replication cohort including 608 BAVM cases and 744 controls. The molecular dataset for these 338 BAVM cases was also included in a report investigating common and rare genome-wide copy number variation for association with BAVM (PMID: 24098321), which included a total sample size of 371 sporadic Caucasian BAVM cases and 563 Caucasian controls. This study identified a CNV region on 1p36.13 (NBPF1 locus) that was significantly enriched with duplications in BAVM cases compared to controls, although this association did not replicate in an independent cohort of 184 sporadic BAVM cases and 182 controls. This resource will help researchers to better understand the genetic risk factors for BAVM and/or hemorrhage. These data may be applied to examine the genetic contributions to arteriovenous malformation, stroke, and related vascular disorders and may help generate hypotheses regarding the genetics of cerebrovascular disease. ]]>
Inclusion criteria: This study included self-reported Caucasian sporadic BAVM cases recruited from institutions in the USA, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, and Scotland. The genetic samples for inclusion in the dbGaP include those recruited from University of California, San Francisco, or Kaiser Permanente of Northern California (KPNC). BAVM diagnosis, morphological, and clinical characteristics were recorded using standardized definitions (PMID: 11387510) and diagnosis confirmed by digital subtraction angiography, pathology, and/or MR or CT angiography. Exclusion criteria: This is a study of sporadic BAVM cases, thus we excluded cases with known diagnoses of Hereditary Hemorrhagic Telangiectasia (HHT) or other Mendelian vascular disorders. ]]>