This study states that the Lipoprotein-related traits have been consistently identified as risk factors for atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, largely on the basis of studies of coronary artery disease (CAD). The relative contributions of specific lipoproteins to risk of peripheral artery disease (PAD) have not been well-defined. We leveraged large-scale genetic association data to investigate effects of circulating lipoprotein-related traits on PAD risk. Genome-wide association study summary statistics for circulating lipoprotein-related traits were used in the MR Bayesian model averaging framework to prioritize the most likely causal major lipoprotein and subfraction risk factors for PAD and CAD. MR was used to estimate the effect of ApoB-lowering on PAD risk using gene regions proxying lipid-lowering drug targets. Genes relevant to prioritized lipoprotein subfractions were identified using transcriptome-wide association studies. ApoB was identified as the most likely causal lipoprotein-related risk factor for both PAD (marginal inclusion probability [MIP] 0.86, p = 0.003) and CAD (MIP 0.92, p = 0.005). Genetic proxies for ApoB (apolipoprotein B)-lowering medications were associated with reduced risk of both PAD .
Reference link- https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.121.053797
