1. Hunting for Celiac Disease Genes
Ludvig M. Sollid 
Gastroenterology 
Volume 134, Issue 3, Pages (March 2008)
DOI: /j.gastro
Copyright © 2008 AGA Institute Terms and Conditions

2. Figure 1
Schematic outline of the development of methods used to identify genes implicated in complex disorders such as celiac disease over the last 10–15 years. The study by Castellanos–Rubio et al11 in this issue of Gastroenterology is an effort to identify celiac disease genes by association analysis of SNPs localized in regions of the genome previously identified to harbor celiac disease genes by linkage analysis. Linkage studies localize chromosomal regions containing disease genes by investigating co-inheritance of genetic markers and disease within families. Association studies assess if a specific allele is more or less frequent in affected individuals, as can be done in a case-control setting. A marker associated with a disease is either the causative mutation itself or it is in linkage disequilibrium with (ie, localized close to) the causative mutation. During the last year, GWAS using SNPs have resulted in dramatic progress in the hunt for genes predisposing to or protecting against the development of complex diseases. Next will be the analysis of the impact of structural variants of DNA, like the variation of gene copy numbers, performed at genome-wide level.
Gastroenterology  , DOI: ( /j.gastro )
Copyright © 2008 AGA Institute Terms and Conditions