Genome-wide association studies of plasma lipids: have we reached the limit?

摘要

For those who have witnessed the evolution of genetic association studies of plasma lipids since 1983, the field has had its roller-coaster moments. The early high points followed from the application of "restriction fragment length polymorphism" analysis to yield candidate genotypes that were statistically evaluated for association with plasma li-poproteins. After 2 decades, though, the candidate gene approach had produced only negligible replicable associations, notably with genotypes for the canonical APOE iso-forms and some others. Because of this inconsistency, enthusiasm for candidate gene association studies had essentially been exhausted by 2005. However, in late 2007, association studies experienced a renaissance and have generated important new findings for lipoprotein metabolism.