CAMBRIDGE, Mass., May 13, 2008 (UPI via COMTEX) -- A German-U.S. study has
discovered 10 new genes related to human growth in a finding scientists say
might explain why people distinctly vary in size.
The international genome-wide study, in cooperation with the Helmholtz Center
Munich, was a meta-analysis, based on data from more than 26,000 study
participants. It verifies two already known genes, but also discovered 10 new
genes. The researchers said, altogether, the newly discovered genes bring the
total number of known "height genes" to 26.
The researchers said several of the identified genes are targeted by the
microRNA let-7, which affects the regulation of other genes. That connection was
completely unknown until now.
Moreover, the researchers said their results could have relevance for people
with inherited growth problems or problems in bone development.
The study's coordinator was Professor Guillaume Lettre, while the principal
investigator was Professor Joel Hirschhorn. Both scientists work at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University.
The findings, along with those of a similar German study, appear in the journal
Nature Genetics.
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Copyright 2008 by United Press International