(Ivanhoe Newswire) -- A team of researchers, at Washington University
School of Medicine, St Louis, has identified a group of 12 genetic variants in
the HSPB7 gene that are associated with heart failure in humans.
The team, led by Gerald Dorn, used an approach that allows ultra-high-throughput
targeted DNA sequencing to identify genetic variations in four genes with
biological relevance to heart failure. In a large group of Caucasian individuals
with heart failure, the researchers identified 129 separate genetic variants in
the four genes, including 23 that seemed to be novel.
Further analysis of 1,117 Caucasian individuals with heart failure and 625
non-affected Caucasians indicated that a block of 12 genetic variants in the
HSPB7 gene was associated with heart failure. Confirmation of this association
was provided by analysis of an independent group of individuals.
The authors hope to use the same approach to identify further genetic variants
associated with heart failure, a disease that is influenced by multiple genetic
factors.
SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Investigation, December 14, 2009
