Genomewide Association Study of Platelet Reactivity and Cardiovascular Response in Patients Treated With Clopidogrel: A Study by the International Clopidogrel Pharmacogenomics Consortium

Antiplatelet response to clopidogrel shows wide variation, and poor response is correlated with adverse clinical outcomes. CYP2C19 loss-of-function alleles play an important role in this response, but account for only a small proportion of variability in response to clopidogrel. An aim of the International Clopidogrel Pharmacogenomics Consortium (ICPC) is to identify other genetic determinants of clopidogrel pharmacodynamics and clinical response. A genomewide association study (GWAS) was performed using DNA from 2,750 European ancestry individuals, using adenosine diphosphate-induced platelet reactivity and major cardiovascular and cerebrovascular events as outcome parameters. GWAS for platelet reactivity revealed a strong signal for CYP2C19*2 (P value = 1.67e−33). After correction for CYP2C19*2 no other single-nucleotide polymorphism reached genomewide significance. GWAS for a combined clinical end point of cardiovascular death, myocardial infarction, or stroke (5.0% event rate), or a combined end point of cardiovascular death or myocardial infarction (4.7% event rate) showed no significant results, although in coronary artery disease, percutaneous coronary intervention, and acute coronary syndrome subgroups, mutations in SCOS5P1, CDC42BPA, and CTRAC1 showed genomewide significance (lowest P values: 1.07e−09, 4.53e−08, and 2.60e−10, respectively). CYP2C19*2 is the strongest genetic determinant of on-clopidogrel platelet reactivity. We identified three novel associations in clinical outcome subgroups, suggestive for each of these outcomes.