Work

A powerful statistical method identifies novel loci associated with diastolic blood pressure triggered by nonlinear gene-environment interaction

Year: 2014

Type: article

Abstract: The genetic basis of blood pressure often involves multiple genetic factors and their interactions with environmental factors. Gene-environment interaction is assumed to play an important role in determining individual blood pressure variability. Older people are more prone to high blood pressure than younger ones and the risk may not display a linear trend over the life span. However, which gene shows sensitivity to aging in its effect on blood pressure is not clear. In this work, we allowed the genetic effect to vary over time and propose a varying-coefficient model to identify potential genetic players that show nonlinear response across different age stages. We detected 2 novel loci, gene MIR1263 (a microRNA coding gene) on chromosome 3 and gene UNC13B on chromosome 9, that are nonlinearly associated with diastolic blood pressure. Further experimental validation is needed to confirm this finding.

Source: BMC Proceedings

DOI: 10.1186/1753-6561-8-s1-s61

Authors: Honglang Wang, Tao He, Cen Wu, Ping-Shou Zhong, Yuehua Cui

Institution: Michigan State University

Language: English

Topic: Genetic Associations and Epidemiology

Subfield: Genetics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,290