Study reveals how genetic variations control protein levels
Lifestyle and diet are not the only factors determining good health: genetics also plays an important role. A new international study has now revealed how genetic variations can strongly influence the levels of many blood proteins that are linked to disease. The study is the first systematic, genome-wide assessment of the role of genetic variation on human protein levels. Scientists from Finland, Italy, the UK and the US, measured the levels of 42 proteins in 1,200 Europeans. The proteins include many implicated in common diseases such interleukins (metabolic and inflammatory conditions) and insulin (diabetes). A protein that controls the level of testosterone in the blood and chemokines, the proteins implicated in HIV's progression to AIDS, were also examined. The researchers identified nine common genetic variants that, among other things, altered the secretion rates of their associated proteins. Six out of the nine associations related to proteins correlated with inflammatory or metabolic-based disease processes. The results of the study may help shed light on the relationship between protein levels and disease. Serum and plasma concentrations of many proteins change during the evolution of a disease. Often it is not known whether altered levels of proteins are involved in this evolution or are simply a result of the disease process. 'By identifying versions of genes that alter blood levels of important molecules we should be able to understand whether these molecules are important in disease processes or not,' said Professor Tim Frayling, one of the study's leaders. The results of the study are published in the latest edition of the open access journal PLoS Genetics.
Countries
Finland, Italy, United Kingdom, United States