By Ratneshwar Thakur
New Delhi: About 35 to 40 percent Indians carry a set of genetic variations which puts them at higher risk of heart disease, finds a new study.
A team of Indian researchers has discovered that carriers of a set of genetic variants in the Chromogranin A (CHGA) gene called ‘CHGA promoter haplotype2’ may be at higher risk for cardiovascular and metabolic disorders. An estimated 35 to 40 percent of Indian population may be carrying this genetic variant.
The study is based on analysis of genomic DNA samples from over 750 individuals from Indian population. The research findings have been published in Journal of Biological Chemistry.
Though the CHGA promoter haplotype is present in other ethnic populations, it occurs more frequently in populations of South Asian ancestry. “It is a protein of neuroendocrine origin and is secreted along with hormones like catecholamines. Earlier studies had suggested its role in regulation of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases but there was no data about it in South Asian populations,” said Lakshmi Subramanian, first author of this paper.
