Genome-wide gene-set analysis for identification of pathways associated with alcohol dependence.

ABSTRACT: It is believed that multiple genetic variants with small individual effects contribute to the risk of alcohol dependence. Such polygenic effects are difficult to detect in genome-wide association studies that test for association of the phenotype with each single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) individually. To overcome this challenge, gene-set analysis (GSA) methods that jointly test for the effects of pre-defined groups of genes have been proposed. Rather than testing for association between the phenotype and individual SNPs, these analyses evaluate the global evidence of association with a set of related genes enabling the identification of cellular or molecular pathways or biological processes that play a role in development of the disease. It is hoped that by aggregating the evidence of

SUBMITTER: Biernacka JM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3854955 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature