151! Scientists have recently discovered genes associated with atrial fibrillation

Author: Li Huayun Date: 2018-08-09

Atrial fibrillation is a disease that causes arrhythmia and increases the risk of stroke. The sooner atrial fibrillation is detected, the more likely it is to prevent stroke, heart failure and other complications. Recently, scientists analyzed genomic data for more than one million people and screened 151 genes that may be associated with atrial fibrillation. This international “big data” can improve understanding of the biology of atrial fibrillation (A-fib) and help to find better treatments.

On July 30th, the study was published in the journal Nature Genetics under the title "Biobank-driven genomic discovery yields new insight into atrial fibrillation biology", providing new insights into atrial fibrillation biology.

Associate Professor Cristen J. Willer of the University of Michigan believes that the study "is important for precise health and prevention of cardiovascular disease." Based on the genes found, the researchers developed a “genetic risk” assessment system that helps to select patients with a higher risk of AF and to monitor them more closely.

The team found that many genes affect the heart's heart development. This means that mutations in these genes may produce susceptibility to atrial fibrillation before birth. Another possibility is that they cause genes that have been inactivated before birth to reopen in adulthood.

Atrial fibrillation requires new treatments

In the United States, approximately 2.2 million people have atrial fibrillation (the condition of the upper chamber of the heart or the irregular beat on the left side of the atrium), which can lead to blood pooling and increased likelihood of thrombosis. If a blood clot forms in the atria, it can spread to the brain and block one of the arteries, causing a stroke. This is why the risk of stroke in people with atrial fibrillation increases by an average of four to six times.

The earlier the detection of atrial fibrillation, the greater the likelihood of preventing stroke, heart failure and other complications. However, there are currently few methods for treating atrial fibrillation, and existing methods rarely cure atrial fibrillation and often cause serious side effects.

Willer and her colleagues claim that 32 of the 151 genes they found would work with drugs that have been approved for the treatment of other diseases. Their latest results provide the basis for further study on whether these drugs can prevent or treat atrial fibrillation.

Research never stops

The researchers conducted a genome-wide association study of data aggregated from six studies. These data come from a number of “biological banks” in different countries, including databases such as AFGen Consortium, DiscovEHR, Genomics Initiative in Michigan, Biobank in the UK, deCODE Genetics in Iceland, and HUNT in Norway.

By using collaborative big data methods, researchers believe they can identify genes that cannot be analyzed from a single data set.

The researchers point out that many of the risk variants they find are located near genes that are more mutated and reported to cause severe heart defects in humans, or genes that are important for striated muscle function and integrity.

They also found that people with atrial fibrillation in their early life had more dangerous genes than those with atrial fibrillation late. They stressed that although the findings are important, further research is needed to confirm these results.

Willer said he hopes other molecular biology experiments will determine how to create a sustained healthy heart rhythm by studying the genes we and others have identified.

Reference materials:

Scientists link 151 genes to atrial fibrillation

Source: Bio-Exploration

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