Genetic susceptibility to coronary artery disease: from promise to progress.
Family history is an important independent risk factor for coronary artery disease (CAD), and identification of susceptibility genes for this common, complex disease is a vital goal. Although there has been considerable success in identifying genetic variants that influence well-known risk factors, such as cholesterol levels, progress in unearthing novel CAD genes has been slow. However, advances are now being made through the application of large-scale, systematic, genome-wide approaches. Recent findings particularly highlight the link between CAD and inflammation and immunity, and highlight the biological insights to be gained from a genetic understanding of the world's biggest killer.
Watkins
Hugh
H
Department of Cardiovascular Medicine and Wellcome Trust Centre for Human Genetics, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK. hugh.watkins@cardiov.ox.ac.uk
Farrall
Martin
M
D000818:Animals; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics*; D014644:Genetic Variation; D015894:Genome, Human / Q000235:genetics*; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D017422:Sequence Analysis, DNA / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*