Genetic predictors of cardiovascular disease: the use of chip technology.
Cardiovascular disease, a primary cause of mortality in the United States, has a complex pathologic process involving many genes. The high-throughput technology (microarray or "DNA chip") used to decipher the human genome is now being employed to identify key genes in its development. A study focusing on candidate genes associated with premature cardiovascular disease discovered that missense variations in the thrombospondin 1 and 4 genes were associated with premature coronary artery disease, while a mutation in the non-coding region of a thrombospondin 2 gene imparts protection from developing heart disease. Although the clinical implications of microarray technology are still under investigation, this research may lead to a diagnostic test to determine a patient's risk for developing heart disease.
Cheek
Dennis J
DJ
Biobehavioral Laboratory, School of Nursing & Carolina Center for Genome Sciences, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA.
Cesan
Annushka
A
D002318:Cardiovascular Diseases / Q000235:genetics* / Q000517:prevention & control; D005820:Genetic Testing / Q000379:methods*; D006801:Humans; D020411:Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis / Q000379:methods; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D019699:Thrombospondins / Q000235:genetics
D019699:Thrombospondins