title: Beyond genome-wide association studies: the usefulness of mouse genetics in understanding the complex etiology of atherosclerosis.
abstract: The development of population-based genome-wide association studies has led to the rapid identification of large numbers of genetic variants associated with coronary artery disease (CAD) and related traits. Together with large-scale gene-centric studies, at least 35 loci associated with CAD per se have been identified with replication. The majority of these associations are with common single-nucleotide polymorphisms exhibiting modest effects on relative risk. The modest nature of the effects, coupled with ethical/practical constraints associated with human sampling, makes it difficult to answer important questions beyond gene/locus localization and allele frequency via human genetic studies. Questions related to gene function, disease-causing mechanism(s), and effective interventions will likely require studies in model organisms. The use of the mouse model for further detailed studies of CAD-associated loci identified by genome-wide association studies is highlighted herein.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Columbia University, P&S 8-401, 630 W. 165th St., New York, NY 10032, USA. cbw13@columbia.edu
authors.forename: Carrie L
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Welch
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000235:genetics*; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000235:genetics; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D056426:Genetic Loci / Q000235:genetics; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease / Q000235:genetics; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D051379:Mice; D008815:Mice, Inbred Strains; D009203:Myocardial Infarction / Q000235:genetics