A genome-wide association scan of RR and QT interval duration in 3 European genetically isolated populations: the EUROSPAN project.

BACKGROUND We set out to identify common genetic determinants of the length of the RR and QT intervals in 2325 individuals from isolated European populations. METHODS AND RESULTS We analyzed the heart rate at rest, measured as the RR interval, and the length of the corrected QT interval for association with 318 237 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. The RR interval was associated with common variants within GPR133, a G-protein-coupled receptor (rs885389, P=3.9 x 10(-8)). The QT interval was associated with the earlier reported NOS1AP gene (rs2880058, P=2.00 x 10(-10)) and with a region on chromosome 13 (rs2478333, P=4.34 x 10(-8)), which is 100 kb from the closest known transcript LOC730174 and has previously not been associated with the length of the QT interval. CONCLUSIONS Our results suggested an association between the RR interval and GPR133 and confirmed an association between the QT interval and NOS1AP.