Genome-wide association study identifies four genetic loci associated with thyroid volume and goiter risk.

ABSTRACT: Thyroid disorders such as goiters represent important diseases, especially in iodine-deficient areas. Sibling studies have demonstrated that genetic factors substantially contribute to the interindividual variation of thyroid volume. We performed a genome-wide association study of this phenotype by analyzing a discovery cohort consisting of 3620 participants of the Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP). Four genetic loci were associated with thyroid volume on a genome-wide level of significance. Of these, two independent loci are located upstream of and within CAPZB, which encodes the β subunit of the barbed-end F-actin binding protein that modulates actin polymerization, a process crucial in the colloid engulfment during thyroglobulin mobilization in the thyroid. The third locus marks FGF7,

SUBMITTER: Teumer A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3146733 | biostudies-literature | 2011 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature