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(Stroke. 2009;40:1604.)
© 2009 American Heart Association, Inc.

Original Contributions

Sequencing of TGF-β Pathway Genes in Familial Cases of Intracranial Aneurysm

Teresa Santiago-Sim, PhD; Sumy Mathew-Joseph, PhD; Hariyadarshi Pannu, PhD; Dianna M. Milewicz, MD, PhD; Christine E. Seidman, MD; J.G. Seidman, PhD Dong H. Kim, MD

From the Department of Genetics (T.S.S., S.M.J., J.G.S., C.E.S.), Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass; the Department of Internal Medicine and Institute of Molecular Medicine (H.P., D.M.M.) and the Department of Neurosurgery (D.H.K.), The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston; and the Department of Pathology (C.E.S.), Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Boston, Mass.

Correspondence to Dong H. Kim, MD, The University of Texas Medical School at Houston, 6431 Fannin Street, MSB7.146, Houston, TX 77030. E-mail Dong.H.Kim{at}uth.tmc.edu

Background and Purpose— Familial aggregation of intracranial aneurysms (IA) strongly suggests a genetic contribution to pathogenesis. However, genetic risk factors have yet to be defined. For families affected by aortic aneurysms, specific gene variants have been identified, many affecting the receptors to transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β). In recent work, we found that aortic and intracranial aneurysms may share a common genetic basis in some families. We hypothesized, therefore, that mutations in TGF-β receptors might also play a role in IA pathogenesis.

Methods— To identify genetic variants in TGF-β and its receptors, TGFB1, TGFBR1, TGFBR2, ACVR1, TGFBR3, and ENG were directly sequenced in 44 unrelated patients with familial IA. Novel variants were confirmed by restriction digestion analyses, and allele frequencies were analyzed in cases versus individuals without known intracranial disease. Similarly, allele frequencies of a subset of known SNPs in each gene were also analyzed for association with IA.

Results— No mutations were found in TGFB1, TGFBR1, TGFBR2, or ACVR1. Novel variants identified in ENG (p.A60E) and TGFBR3 (p.W112R) were not detected in at least 892 reference chromosomes. ENG p.A60E showed significant association with familial IA in case-control studies (P=0.0080). No association with IA could be found for any of the known polymorphisms tested.

Conclusions— Mutations in TGF-β receptor genes are not a major cause of IA. However, we identified rare variants in ENG and TGFBR3 that may be important for IA pathogenesis in a subset of families.

Key Words: aneurysm • endoglin • betaglycan • TGFBR1, TGFBR2