SEATTLE, July 17 /PRNewswire/ -- Researchers at Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center have received a $7.6 million, four-year grant from the
National Human Genome Research Institute to better understand the genetic
and biological roots of common diseases. The Hutchinson Center is one of
four U.S. research institutes to receive grants totaling about $31 million
toward this effort.
The Hutchinson Center project, led by biostatistician and principal
investigator Charles Kooperberg, Ph.D., and epidemiologist and co-principal
investigator Ulrike "Riki" Peters, Ph.D., both of the Center's Public
Health Sciences Division, will study how specific genetic variants
influence the risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other common
conditions, from obesity to dementia.
Mining more than a decade of data from the Women's Health Initiative,
an ethnically and socio-economically diverse study population involving
nearly 162,000 postmenopausal women nationwide, Kooperberg and colleagues
will look also at how previously identified genetic variants are related to
biological and physical characteristics associated with disease risk, such
as weight, cholesterol and blood-sugar levels, and bone density. The
scientists also will examine how lifestyle factors, such as diet,
medications and smoking, may interact with genetic factors to influence
health outcomes. For example, if a person follows a low-fat diet high in
fruits and vegetables, would that lessen or negate the disease risk
associated with a specific genetic variant?
"Through previous genome-wide association studies we know there are
common genetic variants in the population that are associated with a
moderate increase in the risk of various diseases. Now we want to know how
environmental exposures and lifestyle factors, such as diet or smoking,
influence disease risk in people with these genetic variants," Peters said.
Another goal of the study is to examine the pathways by which these
genetic variants influence disease. "We hope to learn more about the
mechanisms by looking at the associations between these genetic variations
and intermediate biomarkers of disease, such as cholesterol levels as a
marker for heart disease and bone density as a marker for hip fractures,"
she said.
To this end, the researchers will aim to genotype blood samples from
58,000 WHI study participants to investigate up to 100 known
disease-specific genetic variants.
"Information generated from this study will be critical to determine
the health impact of any given genetic variant and to prioritize them for
intervention studies aimed to reduce their associated risk," Kooperberg
said. "These findings may also provide valuable insights into disease
pathways and mechanisms, and identify targets for disease screening,
prevention and treatment."
The Hutchinson Center's Public Health Sciences Division houses the
Clinical Coordinating Center for the Women's Health Initiative, one of the
most definitive, far-reaching studies of postmenopausal women's health ever
undertaken in the United States. Enrollment began in 1993 and participants
will be followed at least until 2010. The study examines the prevalence and
risk factors for a number of diseases common in aging women, as well as the
effects of various interventions, from low-fat diets and hormone therapy to
calcium and vitamin D supplementation.
"We are extremely grateful for the study participants who have provided
a wealth of biological data that will permit us to link genetic variants to
relevant intermediate biomarkers that will potentially provide important
clues to the biological basis of the disease," Kooperberg said.
Also collaborating on the project, in addition Kooperberg, Peters and
colleagues from the WHI Clinical Coordinating Center, are investigators
from the University of Arizona Cancer Center, Ohio State University and the
University of Pittsburgh.
For more information about the NHGRI program and the other grantees,
please visit http://www.genome.gov/27527085 .
At Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, our interdisciplinary teams
of world-renowned scientists and humanitarians work together to prevent,
diagnose and treat cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases. Our researchers,
including three Nobel laureates, bring a relentless pursuit and passion for
health, knowledge and hope to their work and to the world. For more
information, please visit fhcrc.org.
CONTACT
Kristen Woodward
206-667-5095
kwoodwar@fhcrc.org
SOURCE Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center
 back to top
Related links:
http://www.fhcrc.org
http://www.genome.gov/27527085
CONTACT:
Kristen Woodward of Fred Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center, +1-206-667-5095, kwoodwar@fhcrc.org
|
