Browsing by Author "Bick, Alexander G."

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    APOL1 Risk Variants, Acute Kidney Injury, and Death in Participants With African Ancestry Hospitalized With COVID-19 From the Million Veteran Program
    (American Medical Association, 2022) Hung, Adriana M.; Shah, Shailja C.; Bick, Alexander G.; Yu, Zhihong; Chen, Hua-Chang; Hunt, Christine M.; Wendt, Frank; Wilson, Otis; Greevy, Robert A.; Chung, Cecilia P.; Suzuki, Ayako; Ho, Yuk-Lam; Akwo, Elvis; Polimanti, Renato; Zhou, Jin; Reaven, Peter; Tsao, Philip S.; Gaziano, J. Michael; Huffman, Jennifer E.; Joseph, Jacob; Luoh, Shiuh-Wen; Iyengar, Sudha; Chang, Kyong-Mi; Casas, Juan P.; Matheny, Michael E.; O'Donnell, Christopher J.; Cho, Kelly; Tao, Ran; Susztak, Katalin; Robinson-Cohen, Cassianne; Tuteja, Sony; Siew, Edward D.; VA Million Veteran Program COVID-19 Science Initiative; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Importance: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) confers significant risk of acute kidney injury (AKI). Patients with COVID-19 with AKI have high mortality rates. Objective: Individuals with African ancestry with 2 copies of apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) variants G1 or G2 (high-risk group) have significantly increased rates of kidney disease. We tested the hypothesis that the APOL1 high-risk group is associated with a higher-risk of COVID-19-associated AKI and death. Design, setting, and participants: This retrospective cohort study included 990 participants with African ancestry enrolled in the Million Veteran Program who were hospitalized with COVID-19 between March 2020 and January 2021 with available genetic information. Exposures: The primary exposure was having 2 APOL1 risk variants (RV) (APOL1 high-risk group), compared with having 1 or 0 risk variants (APOL1 low-risk group). Main outcomes and measures: The primary outcome was AKI. The secondary outcomes were stages of AKI severity and death. Multivariable logistic regression analyses adjusted for preexisting comorbidities, medications, and inpatient AKI risk factors; 10 principal components of ancestry were performed to study these associations. We performed a subgroup analysis in individuals with normal kidney function prior to hospitalization (estimated glomerular filtration rate ≥60 mL/min/1.73 m2). Results: Of the 990 participants with African ancestry, 905 (91.4%) were male with a median (IQR) age of 68 (60-73) years. Overall, 392 (39.6%) patients developed AKI, 141 (14%) developed stages 2 or 3 AKI, 28 (3%) required dialysis, and 122 (12.3%) died. One hundred twenty-five (12.6%) of the participants were in the APOL1 high-risk group. Patients categorized as APOL1 high-risk group had significantly higher odds of AKI (adjusted odds ratio [OR], 1.95; 95% CI, 1.27-3.02; P = .002), higher AKI severity stages (OR, 2.03; 95% CI, 1.37-2.99; P < .001), and death (OR, 2.15; 95% CI, 1.22-3.72; P = .007). The association with AKI persisted in the subgroup with normal kidney function (OR, 1.93; 95% CI, 1.15-3.26; P = .01). Data analysis was conducted between February 2021 and April 2021. Conclusions and relevance: In this cohort study of veterans with African ancestry hospitalized with COVID-19 infection, APOL1 kidney risk variants were associated with higher odds of AKI, AKI severity, and death, even among individuals with prior normal kidney function.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Obesity-induced inflammation exacerbates clonal hematopoiesis
    (The American Society for Clinical Investigation, 2023-06-01) Pasupuleti, Santhosh Kumar; Ramdas, Baskar; Burns, Sarah S.; Palam, Lakshmi Reddy; Kanumuri, Rahul; Kumar, Ramesh; Pandhiri, Taruni Reddy; Dave, Utpal P.; Yellapu, Nanda Kumar; Zhou, Xinyu; Zhang, Chi; Sandusky, George E.; Yu, Zhi; Honigberg, Michael C.; Bick, Alexander G.; Griffin, Gabriel K.; Niroula, Abhishek; Ebert, Benjamin L.; Paczesny, Sophie; Natarajan, Pradeep; Kapur, Reuben; Medicine, School of Medicine
    Characterized by the accumulation of somatic mutations in blood cell lineages, clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP) is frequent in aging and involves the expansion of mutated hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSC/Ps) that leads to an increased risk of hematologic malignancy. However, the risk factors that contribute to CHIP-associated clonal hematopoiesis (CH) are poorly understood. Obesity induces a proinflammatory state and fatty bone marrow (FBM), which may influence CHIP-associated pathologies. We analyzed exome sequencing and clinical data for 47,466 individuals with validated CHIP in the UK Biobank. CHIP was present in 5.8% of the study population and was associated with a significant increase in the waist-to-hip ratio (WHR). Mouse models of obesity and CHIP driven by heterozygosity of Tet2, Dnmt3a, Asxl1, and Jak2 resulted in exacerbated expansion of mutant HSC/Ps due in part to excessive inflammation. Our results show that obesity is highly associated with CHIP and that a proinflammatory state could potentiate the progression of CHIP to more significant hematologic neoplasia. The calcium channel blockers nifedipine and SKF-96365, either alone or in combination with metformin, MCC950, or anakinra (IL-1 receptor antagonist), suppressed the growth of mutant CHIP cells and partially restored normal hematopoiesis. Targeting CHIP-mutant cells with these drugs could be a potential therapeutic approach to treat CH and its associated abnormalities in individuals with obesity.