Pharmacogenetic Landscape of Clopidogrel in North Indians Suggest Distinct Interpopulation Differences in Allele Frequencies

Aim: Clopidogrel, a widely used antiplatelet drug, exhibits high interindividual variability; more than 80% of which could be explained by genetic polymorphisms. We built an allele frequency map of variants affecting clopidogrel response in north Indians.

Materials & Methods: We mined a cross-sectional population-scale genome-wide dataset of 2128 Indo-Europeans residing in north India for presence of variants associated with pharmacogenetics of clopidogrel.

Results: Our analysis reveals significant differences in population-scale allele frequencies between Indians and the global population. Indians had a higher allele frequency for variants in the CYP2C9*2, CYP2C9*3 and P2RY1 genes whereas lower frequency for the ABCB1, CYP1A2, CYP2C19*2C, CYP3A5 and PON1 genes compared with the global population. Furthermore, from our study we proposed a model to explain the higher prevalence of clopidogrel metabolizers in north Indians.

Conclusion: This is the largest population-scale genetic epidemiology study that provides a high-resolution map of variants associated with clopidogrel response that could be potentially valuable to clinicians to rationally plan appropriate dosage for therapy in resource poor conditions based on population level allele frequencies.