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Nature Genetics 40, 129–130 (1 February 2008) | doi:10.1038/ng0208-129

A treasure trove for lipoprotein biology

Aldons J Lusis & P|[auml]|ivi Pajukanta

Plasma lipoprotein concentrations are associated with risk of coronary artery disease, a leading cause of mortality and morbidity worldwide. Three new genome-wide association studies of thousands of individuals now identify seven genes or loci contributing to lipid concentrations and confirm a number of previously reported associations. Lipids, being insoluble, are transported through the circulation as complexes with proteins. Because of their central role in coronary artery disease, plasma lipoproteins have been intensively studied for many decades, and as lipoprotein concentrations are highly heritable in the population, there has been much interest in understanding the genetic factors involved.