HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) All Versions of this Article: 27/2/103    most recent 00054.2005v1 Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Lakka, T. A. Articles by Bouchard, C. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Lakka, T. A. Articles by Bouchard, C.

Quantitative trait locus on chromosome 20q13 for plasma levels of C-reactive protein in healthy whites: the HERITAGE Family Study

¹ Pennington Biomedical Research Center, Baton Rouge, Louisiana
² Institute of Biomedicine, Department of Physiology, University of Kuopio
³ Kuopio Research Institute of Exercise Medicine, Kuopio, Finland
⁴ Division of Biostatistics, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
⁵ School of Kinesiology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota
⁶ Departments of Genetics and Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis, Missouri
⁷ Department of Kinesiology, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana

C-reactive protein (CRP) is a sensitive marker of systemic low-grade inflammation. Increased plasma levels of CRP predict the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Although genetic factors account for 30–40% of individual differences in plasma CRP levels, genomic regions contributing to CRP levels remain unknown. We performed a genome-wide linkage scan for plasma CRP levels in healthy whites from the HERITAGE Family Study. CRP was measured with a high-sensitivity assay. Multipoint linkage analyses were performed in 280 sibling pairs with 654 markers using regression and variance components-based methods. Data were adjusted for independent correlates of plasma CRP. We showed the strongest evidence of linkage for plasma CRP levels on chromosome 20q13. Markers which gave suggestive linkages in this region were D20S52 [logarithm of odds (LOD) score 3.18, P = 0.00006], D20S857 (LOD score 2.87, P = 0.00014), D20S869 (LOD score 2.75, P = 0.0002), D20S480 (LOD score 2.59, P = 0.0003), D20S501 (LOD score 2.55, P = 0.0003), D20S840 (LOD score 2.18, P = 0.0008), and D20S876 (LOD score 2.07, P = 0.001). We also detected suggestive linkage on chromosome 5p13 for marker D5S1470 (LOD score 2.23, P = 0.0007). Chromosome 20q13 may contribute to plasma CRP levels in healthy whites. This region contains genes that are important in the inflammatory process and may play a role in the development of chronic inflammatory diseases. The present findings may be useful in the ongoing effort to search for genes contributing to inflammation and to identify individuals at an increased risk of chronic inflammatory diseases.

genes; genomic scan; immune system; inflammation; health, risk factors, exercise training, and genetics