Regulatory Variants Modulate Protein Kinase C α (PRKCA) Gene Expression in Human Heart.

PURPOSE: Protein kinase C α (PRKCA) is involved in multiple functions and has been implicated in heart failure risks and treatment outcomes. This study aims to identify regulatory variants affecting PRKCA expression in human heart, and evaluate attributable risk of heart disease.

METHODS: mRNA expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs) were extracted from the Genotype and Tissue Expression Project (GTEx). Allelic mRNA ratios were measured in 51 human heart tissues to identify cis-acting regulatory variants. Potential regulatory regions were tested with luciferase reporter gene assays and further evaluated in GTEx and genome-wide association studies.

RESULTS: Located in a region with robust enhancer activity in luciferase reporter assays, rs9909004 (T > C, minor allele frequency =0.47) resides in a haplotype displaying strong eQTLs for PRKCA in heart (p = 1.2 × 10-23 ). The minor C allele is associated with both decreased PRKCA mRNA expression and decreased risk of phenotypes characteristic of heart failure in GWAS analyses (QT interval p = 3.0 × 10-14 ). While rs9909004 is the likely regulatory variant, other variants in high linkage disequilibrium cannot be excluded. Distinct regulatory variants appear to affect expression in other tissues.

CONCLUSIONS: The haplotype carrying rs9909004 influences PRKCA expression in the heart and is associated with traits linked to heart failure, potentially affecting therapy of heart failure.