Faculty Collaboration Database

Genetic rat models of hypertension: relationship to human hypertension. Curr Hypertens Rep 2001 Apr;3(2):157-64

Date

03/29/2001

Pubmed ID

11276399

DOI

10.1007/s11906-001-0031-9

Scopus ID

2-s2.0-0035316372 (requires institutional sign-in at Scopus site)   22 Citations

Abstract

Experimental models of human disease are frequently used to investigate the pathophysiology of disease as well as the mechanisms of action of therapeutics. However, as long as models have been used there have been debates about the utility of experimental models and their applicability for human disease on the phenotypic and genomic level. The recent advances in molecular genetics and genomics have provided powerful tools to study the genetics of multifactorial diseases, such as hypertension. However, studies of such diseases in humans remain challenging in part due to lack of statistical power and genetic heterogeneity within patient populations. For hypertension, various rat models have been developed and used for the identification of susceptibility loci for genetic hypertension. With the advent of "comparative genomics," the application of genetic studies to both human and animal model systems allows for a new paradigm, where comparative genomics can be used to bridge between model utility and clinical relevance. This review discusses recent approaches in genetics to facilitate gene discovery for polygenic disorders with specific focus on how comparative mapping can be used to select target regions in the human genome for large-scale association studies and linkage disequilibrium testing in clinical populations.

Author List

Stoll M, Jacob HJ

MESH terms used to index this publication - Major topics in bold

Animals
Cytogenetic Analysis
Disease Models, Animal
Genetic Linkage
Humans
Hypertension
Rats