Association of insulin sensitivity and glucose tolerance with the c.825C>T variant of the G protein beta-3 subunit gene.

Unlabelled: The risk of macrovascular complications of diabetes mellitus is greatly enhanced by the presence of high blood pressure. In addition, hypertension and diabetes share insulin resistance as a common pathophysiological mechanism. Despite evidence for a common molecular genetic background of insulin resistance, glucose intolerance, and hypertension, few candidate genes have been shown to influence all of these features simultaneously.

A genome-wide screen for nicotine dependence susceptibility loci.

Genome-wide model free linkage analysis was conducted for nicotine dependence and tobacco use phenotypes in 607 members of 158 nuclear families consisting of at least two ever smokers (100 or more cigarettes smoked in lifetime). DNA from whole blood was genotyped for 739 autosomal microsatellite polymorphisms with an average inter-marker distance of 4.6 cM.

Support for previously identified alcoholism susceptibility Loci in a cohort selected for smoking behavior.

Background: Alcohol consumption and alcoholism are heritable traits. Previous linkage analyses for alcoholism and related traits have identified several putative susceptibility loci. In this paper we use, for the first time, linkage analysis to search for alcoholism-related phenotypes in a family sample selected for smoking behavior.

Genetic linkage of prostate cancer risk to the chromosome 3 region bearing FHIT.

We conducted linkage analysis of 80 candidate genes in 201 brother pairs affected with prostatic adenocarcinoma. Markers representing two adjacent candidate genes on chromosome 3p, CDC25A and FHIT, showed suggestive evidence for linkage with single-point identity-by-descent allele-sharing statistics. Fine-structure multipoint linkage analysis yielded a maximum LOD score of 3.

Association of CCR5 delta32 deletion with early death in multiple sclerosis.

Purpose: The interaction between chemokines and their receptors is extremely important in controlling T cell migration into sites of CNS inflammation. Because trafficking of inflammatory T cells into the central nervous system (CNS) is a key player in the pathogenesis of multiple sclerosis (MS), we investigated the possible association of CCR5 delta32 deletion in this disorder.

Methods: DNA isolated from postmortem brain tissue samples of 132 patients with MS and from blood tissue samples of 163 gender and ethnicity-matched healthy controls was used to screen for the CCR5 delta32 deletion allele.

Genetic determinants of osteoporosis susceptibility in a female Ashkenazi Jewish population.

Purpose: To determine the heritability of low bone mineral density (BMD) at the hip in Ashkenazi Jewish families.

Methods: BMD at hip was accessed by dual x-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) in 166 female subjects from 61 families. Variance component analysis was used to estimate genetic contributions.

Environmental and genetic determinants of tobacco use: methodology for a multidisciplinary, longitudinal family-based investigation.

This article describes the ongoing collaborative effort of six research teams to operationalize and execute an integrative approach to the study of gene x environment interactions in the development of tobacco dependence. At the core of the project is a longitudinal investigation of social and behavioral risk factors for tobacco use in individuals who were, on average, 13 years of age at intake and for whom smoking outcomes extending from early adolescence to young adulthood have been characterized previously (current average age of the cohort is 29 years). The conceptual framework for the integrative approach and the longitudinal investigation on which the study is based is presented.