title: Pro-inflammatory genetic markers of atherosclerosis.
abstract: Atherosclerosis (AS) is a chronic, progressive, multifactorial disease mostly affecting large and medium-sized elastic and muscular arteries. It has formerly been considered a bland lipid storage disease. Currently, multiple independent pathways of evidence suggest this pathological condition is a peculiar form of inflammation, triggered by cholesterol-rich lipoproteins and influenced both by environmental and genetic factors. The Human Genome Project opened up the opportunity to dissect complex human traits and to understand basic pathways of multifactorial diseases such as AS. Population-based association studies have emerged as powerful tools for examining genes with a role in common multifactorial diseases that have a strong environmental component. These association studies often estimate the risk of developing a certain disease in carriers and non-carriers of a particular genetic polymorphism. Dissecting out the influence of pro-inflammatory genes within the complex pathophysiology of AS and its complications will help to provide a more complete risk assessment and complement known classical cardiovascular risk factors. The detection of a risk profile will potentially allow both the early identification of individuals susceptible to disease and the possible discovery of potential targets for drug or lifestyle modification; i.e. it will open the door to personalized medicine.
authors.affiliation: Dipartimento Biomedico di Medicina Interna e Specialistica, Università di Palermo, Via Del Vespro 127, 90129, Palermo, Italy. e.incalcaterra@email.it
authors.forename: Egle
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Incalcaterra
authors.forename: Giulia
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Accardi
authors.forename: Carmela Rita
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: Balistreri
authors.forename: Gregorio
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Caimi
authors.forename: Giuseppina
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Candore
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Caruso
authors.forename: Calogero
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Caruso
mesh_terms: D050197:Atherosclerosis / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics / Q000276:immunology; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics* / Q000276:immunology; D005819:Genetic Markers; D020022:Genetic Predisposition to Disease; D055106:Genome-Wide Association Study; D006801:Humans; D007249:Inflammation / Q000150:complications / Q000235:genetics*; D018836:Inflammation Mediators / Q000378:metabolism; D011110:Polymorphism, Genetic; D020641:Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide; D057285:Precision Medicine
chemical_list: D005819:Genetic Markers; D018836:Inflammation Mediators