LDL Cholesterol Levels Associated With New Gene Locus

A new gene locus has been discovered that may be associated with levels
of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol in the blood. This new
finding may aid the development of new drugs to fight cardiovascular
disease, according to an article published in the February 9 issue of The
Lancet.



Higher LDL cholesterol concentrations have been linked to
cardiovascular diseases, and in previous studies, a clinical benefit
can be reaped by lowering concentrations of LDL cholesterol in the
blood. This means that improving understanding of the biological
mechanisms that control the metabolism and regulation of LDL
cholesterol could provide valuable information for identification of
new therapeutic directions.



Dr Manjinder Sandhu, Department of Public Health & Primary Care
and MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge, UK, and colleagues
did performed an association of LDL cholesterol levels with genome-wide
data from 11,685 participants in five separate studies.



The researchers found evidence that correlation existed between
LDL-cholesterol levels and the chromosome region 1p13.3. Across all of
the studies examined, this association maintained its magnitude and
showed independent statistical association in each study. The authors
conclude with optimism for the implications of this
result: "These results potentially provide insight into
the biological mechanisms that underlie the regulation of LDL
cholesterol and might
help in the discovery of novel therapeutic targets for cardiovascular
disease."



Dr Ronald Krauss, Children's Hospital
Oakland Research Institute, Oakland, CA, USA, contributed in an
accompanying comment with more options for further investigation: "In
addition to the identification
of new treatment targets, the discovery of genetic polymorphisms that
affect LDL and other
markers of cardiovascular
disease risk could provide a means to categorise specific phenotypes
that might merit
different treatments and to identify at-risk individuals."



LDL-cholesterol concentrations: a genome-wide association
study

Manjinder S Sandhu, Dawn M Waterworth, Sally L Debenham, Eleanor
Wheeler, Konstantinos Papadakis, Jing Hua Zhao, Kijoung Song, Xin Yuan,
Toby Johnson, Sofie Ashford, Michael Inouye, Robert Luben, Matthew
Sims, David Hadley, Wendy McArdle, Philip Barter, Y Antero Kesaniemi,
Robert W Mahley, Ruth McPherson, Scott M Grundy, Wellcome Trust Case
Control Consortium, Sheila A Bingham, Kay-Tee Khaw, Ruth J F Loos,
Gerard Waeber, Ine?‚s Barroso, David P Strachan, Panagiotis Deloukas,
Peter Vollenweider, Nicholas J Wareham, Vincent Mooser

The Lancet, Vol 371, February 9, 2008: p483-494

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Written by Anna Sophia McKenney