Genomics of sub clinical atherosclerosis

Coordinator:		Prof. Dr. Stefan Blankenberg                                                            Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Koenig
Institution:		Universitätsmedizin Mainz                                                             Universität Ulm
Homepage:		www.klinik.uni-mainz.de

This sub-projects aims at the identification of a set of genetic markers that associates with increased risk of early atherosclerosis as well as the manifest disease. Detailed statistical analyses will be performed on genom-wide SNP data for intermediate phenotypes of early atherosclerosis (assessed in the population-based Gutenberg Heart Study/Mainz and MONICA/KORA Study/Neuherberg/Ulm). The parallel analyses of both populations provides unique power to identify genetic variants and haplotypes that associates with increased risk of early atherosclerosis and the manifest disease and its complications in both populations. After identification of these genetics variants, reuslts will be replicated and validated and findings will be translated into functional studies. Finally, data will be transferred to develop a commercially available diagnostic SNP array for atherosclerotic disease (see also sub-project E1).