A new study increases knowledge of the genetics behind aortic aneurysm, a disease that can spark life-threatening events like aortic dissections and ruptures.
University of Michigan Health-led researchers compared blood samples from more than 1,300 people who had a thoracic aortic aneurysm with more than 18,000 control samples, in partnership with U-M’s Cardiovascular Health Improvement Project and its Michigan Genomics Initiative.
“After examining nearly the entire human genome for genetic changes that increase risk of aneurysm, we discovered a new change in the genetic code of a transcription factor, which means it controls many other genes,” explained co-corresponding author Cristen Willer, Ph.D., a professor of cardiovascular medicine, internal medicine, human genetics and computational medicine and bioinformatics at University of Michigan Health.
Then, Willer’s team collaborated with Minerva Garcia-Barrio, Ph.D., an assistant professor of internal medicine, to examine the role this gene played in smooth muscle cells, a component of aorta.
“We examined this gene in human cells and discovered that the transcription factor we identified is a key factor that gives instructions to cells about when to die and replenish,” said co-lead author Tanmoy Roychowdhury, Ph.D., a research fellow in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine.
Source: Read Full Article