Pharmacogenomics of Antiplatelet Response - I

The main goal of this study is to explore the impact of the PEAR1 genetic variant (rs12041331) on responsiveness to clopidogrel. The investigators will further assess the role of other genetic variants in determining the response to single or dual anti-platelet therapy. Apparently healthy subjects (N= 2108) from high-risk families are being (a) identified from a proband with early-onset CAD and (b) genotyped on the Illumina 1 million platform, with imputation to 2.5 million single nucleotide polymorphisms. The investigators plan to characterize the variance in platelet aggregation to multiple agonists (ADP, collagen, and arachidonic acid) after 1-week therapy with clopidogrel in a high-risk subset of GeneSTAR subjects (N=100). The investigators further plan to determine the extent to which variants identified in the PEAR1 gene modify platelet responsiveness to inhibition by clopidogrel in this high-risk subset. In addition, the investigators aim is to determine the extent to which variants in other recently discovered genes, by themselves, and in combination with PEAR1, modify platelet responsiveness to clopidogrel alone and with aspirin in this high-risk subset. Lastly, the investigators also want to determine what changes in platelet mRNA are produced by aspirin alone and by aspirin with clopidogrel.