Genome-Wide Association Studies Identify New Targets in Cardiovascular Disease
Science Translational Medicine • 8 Sep 2010 • Vol 2, Issue 48 • p. 48ps46 • DOI: 10.1126/scitranslmed.3001557
Abstract
The prevalence of cardiovascular disease (CVD) continues to increase worldwide, highlighting the need for new therapeutic strategies. A recent meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies (GWASs) of over 100,000 individuals published in Nature identified 59 new loci associated with lipid traits; of these, a locus on chromosome 1p13 was most strongly associated with low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) levels. An accompanying study in Nature identified SORT1 as the causal gene at the 1p13 locus and showed that increased expression of sortilin-1 protein in liver was associated with lower LDL-C levels and a reduced risk of myocardial infarction. Together, these studies provide strong validation of the utility of GWASs in identifying biological pathways relevant to CVD pathogenesis and perhaps treatment.
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Science Translational Medicine
Volume 2 | Issue 48
September 2010
September 2010
Copyright
Copyright © 2010, American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Acknowledgments
Funding: A.C.C. is funded by a National Heart Foundation of Australia Overseas Fellowship (O 08M 3934). P.T. is an Investigator of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. Competing interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests.
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