Variants influence smoking behaviors
Nature Genetics
April 26, 2010
Genetic variants influence several measures of smoking behavior, report three papers published this week in Nature Genetics. The studies each performed genome-wide association studies for measures of smoking behavior reflecting smoking initiation, dependence, and cessation. The strongest associations were found for the number of cigarettes smoked per day, a measure of smoking dependence.
The three studies collectively analyzed data from over 140,000 individuals with several recorded measurements of smoking behavior. Clyde Francks and colleagues report a genome-wide meta-analysis for smoking quantity that replicates a previous association at the CHRNA3-CHRNA5-CHRNA4 locus on chromosome 15. This includes genes encoding nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits. The two studies from Helena Furberg, Kari Stefansson and their respective colleagues also found genetic regions associated to number of cigarettes smoked per day that include candidate genes encoding additional nicotinic acetylcholine receptor subunits, CHRNB3 and CHRNA6, as well as nicotine metabolizing enzymes CYP2A6 and CYP2B6.
doi: 10.1038/ng.571
Research highlights
-
Jun 29
COVID-19: Assessing instances of long COVID in UK health dataNature Communications
-
Jun 24
Palaeontology: It sucked to be the prey of ancient cephalopodsScientific Reports
-
Jun 24
Sport science: New wearable sensor to measure neck strain may detect potential concussionScientific Reports
-
Jun 23
Scientific community: Women credited less than men in scientific paper authorshipNature
-
Jun 17
Health technology: New cost-effective smartphone test for middle ear functionCommunications Medicine
-
Jun 17
Conservation: Feral cats pushing critically endangered marsupial further towards extinctionScientific Reports