The association between common vitamin D receptor gene variations and osteoporosis: a participant-level meta-analysis.

Background: Polymorphisms of the vitamin D receptor (VDR) gene have been implicated in the genetic regulation of bone mineral density (BMD). However, the clinical impact of these variants remains unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the relation between VDR polymorphisms, BMD, and fractures.

Large-scale evidence for the effect of the COLIA1 Sp1 polymorphism on osteoporosis outcomes: the GENOMOS study.

Background: Osteoporosis and fracture risk are considered to be under genetic control. Extensive work is being performed to identify the exact genetic variants that determine this risk. Previous work has suggested that a G/T polymorphism affecting an Sp1 binding site in the COLIA1 gene is a genetic marker for low bone mineral density (BMD) and osteoporotic fracture, but there have been no very-large-scale studies of COLIA1 alleles in relation to these phenotypes.

Association of the TSHR gene with Graves' disease: the first disease specific locus.

The development of autoimmune thyroid disease (AITD) is associated with autoantibodies directed against the thyroid stimulating hormone receptor (TSHR). Previous studies have failed to demonstrate a consistent association between the TSHR and AITD, or any of its sub-phenotypes. In the present study, we analysed the linkage disequilibrium (LD) structure encompassing the TSHR, to identify LD 'blocks' and SNPs, which capture the majority of intra-block haplotype diversity.

Genomewide linkage study in 1,176 affected sister pair families identifies a significant susceptibility locus for endometriosis on chromosome 10q26.

Endometriosis is a common gynecological disease that affects up to 10% of women in their reproductive years. It causes pelvic pain, severe dysmenorrhea, and subfertility. The disease is defined as the presence of tissue resembling endometrium in sites outside the uterus.

Association between a complex insertion/deletion polymorphism in NOD1 (CARD4) and susceptibility to inflammatory bowel disease.

The identification of the role of genetic variants within NOD2 (CARD15) in Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis susceptibility highlight the role of the innate immune system in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) pathogenesis. NOD1 (CARD4) is located on chromosome 7p14.3, in a region of known linkage to IBD and encodes an intracellular bacterial pathogen-associated molecular pattern receptor that is closely related to NOD2.

Single-point haplotype scores telomeric to human leukocyte antigen-C give a high susceptibility major histocompatibility complex haplotype for psoriasis in a Caucasian population.

Psoriasis is a chronic inflammatory skin disease that affects 0.1%-5% depending on the population. PSORS1 is the major susceptibility locus, accounting for approximately 33%-50% of the genetic component of psoriasis among Caucasians.

Differential genetic effects of ESR1 gene polymorphisms on osteoporosis outcomes.

Context: Both bone mineral density (BMD) and fracture risk have a strong genetic component. Estrogen receptor alpha (ESR1) is a candidate gene for osteoporosis, but previous studies of ESR1 polymorphisms in this field were hampered by small sample size, lack of standardization, and inconclusive results.

Objective: To generate large-scale evidence on whether 3 common ESR1 polymorphisms (intron 1 polymorphisms XbaI [dbSNP: rs9340799] and PvuII [dbSNP: rs2234693] and promoter TA repeats microsatellite) and haplotypes thereof are associated with BMD and fractures.

Positional cloning of a novel gene influencing asthma from chromosome 2q14.

Asthma is a common disease in children and young adults. Four separate reports have linked asthma and related phenotypes to an ill-defined interval between 2q14 and 2q32 (refs. 1-4), and two mouse genome screens have linked bronchial hyper-responsiveness to the region homologous to 2q14 (refs.

The IBD6 Crohn's disease locus demonstrates complex interactions with CARD15 and IBD5 disease-associated variants.

Genetic studies in inflammatory bowel disease have identified multiple susceptibility loci, whose relevance depends critically on verification in independent cohorts. Genetic variants associated with Crohn's disease have now been identified on chromosomes 5 (IBD5/5q31 risk haplotype) and 16 (IBD1 locus, CARD15/NOD2 mutations). Stratification of genome-wide linkage analyses by disease associated variants is now possible, offering both increased power for identification of other loci and improved understanding of genetic mechanisms.

Fine mapping of the IBD1 locus did not identify Crohn disease-associated NOD2 variants: implications for complex disease genetics.

Crohn disease (CD) is a chronic relapsing inflammatory condition of the gastrointestinal tract. Recently, polymorphisms in NOD2 (CARD15), a gene mapping to the chromosome 16 IBD1 susceptibility locus, have been associated with susceptibility to CD. One group identified the gene by using classic positional cloning methods.

Inflammatory bowel disease is associated with a TNF polymorphism that affects an interaction between the OCT1 and NF(-kappa)B transcription factors.

Tumour necrosis factor-alpha (TNF) expression is increased in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), and TNF maps to the IBD3 susceptibility locus. Transmission disequilibrium and case-control analyses, in two independent Caucasian cohorts, showed a novel association of the TNF(-857C) promoter polymorphism with IBD (overall P=0.001 in 587 IBD families).

Targeted mutagenesis of the Hira gene results in gastrulation defects and patterning abnormalities of mesoendodermal derivatives prior to early embryonic lethality.

The Hira gene encodes a nuclear WD40 domain protein homologous to the yeast transcriptional corepressors Hir1p and Hir2p. Using targeted mutagenesis we demonstrate that Hira is essential for murine embryogenesis. Analysis of inbred 129Sv embryos carrying the null mutation revealed an initial requirement during gastrulation, with many mutant embryos having a distorted primitive streak.