Association of common variants in the human eyes shut ortholog (EYS) with statin-induced myopathy: evidence for additional functions of EYS.

INTRODUCTION: Of the nearly 38 million people in the USA who receive statin therapy, 0.1-0.5% experience severe or life-threatening myopathic side effects. METHODS: We performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a group of patients with severe statin myopathy versus a statin-tolerant group to identify genetic susceptibility loci. RESULTS: Replication studies in independent groups of severe statin myopathy (n = 190) and statin-tolerant controls (n = 130) resulted in the identification of three single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), rs9342288, rs1337512, and rs3857532, in the eyes shut homolog (EYS) on chromosome 6 suggestive of an association with risk for severe statin myopathy (P = 0.0003-0.0008). Analysis of EYS cDNA demonstrated that EYS gene products are complex and expressed with relative abundance in the spinal cord as well as in the retina. CONCLUSION: Structural similarities of these EYS gene products to members of the Notch signaling pathway and to agrin suggest a possible functional role in the maintenance and regeneration of the structural integrity of skeletal muscle.