Genetic background influences disease risk from single-gene variants
By Indrani Mukherjee,
Broad Institute
| 08. 20. 2020
Life can change dramatically when someone learns they are genetically predisposed to a disease, such as a condition called familial hypercholesterolemia, where a mutated gene can lead to elevated cholesterol and increased risk for a premature heart attack. But these kinds of disease predictions are complicated: not everyone carrying such high-risk variants of a single gene develops the disease.
Now, researchers at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), and Harvard Medical School, in partnership with IBM Research and health technology company Color, have discovered a possible reason why. They studied genetic and clinical data from more than 80,000 people and found that a person’s genetic background influences not only the risk of heart disease in people carrying familial hypercholesterolemia gene variants, but also the risks of breast cancer and colorectal cancer in individuals with high-risk single-gene variants that predispose them to these diseases.
Moreover, the team discovered that for some people with these high-risk single-gene variants, having a low polygenic score — which accounts for the small contributions from many common genetic variants for disease...
Related Articles
GeneWatch UK has prepared a briefing on the genetic modification of nature for the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Congress in October 2025
The upcoming Congress claims to be “where the world comes together to set priorities and drive conservation and sustainable development action.” A major concern for those on the outside is that the Congress may advance plans to develop and encourage the use of synthetic biology in nature conservation. This could at first glance sound like...
By Aaron Ginn, The Washington Post | 09.12.2025
Earlier this year, I had dinner in D.C. with Jensen Huang, the president and chief executive of Nvidia. At one point, he said something that struck me: “Why is everyone here so negative?”
He wasn’t referring to the economy...
By Roni Caryn Rabin, The New York Times | 08.25.2025
Scientists have dreamed for centuries about using animal organs to treat ailing humans. In recent years, those efforts have begun to bear fruit: Researchers have begun transplanting the hearts and kidneys of genetically modified pigs into patients, with varying degrees...
The Center for Genetics and Society is delighted to recommend the current edition of GMWatch Review – Number 589. UK-based GMWatch, a long-standing ally, was founded in 1998 by Jonathan Matthews as an independent organization seeking to counter the enormous corporate political power and propaganda of the GMO industry and its supporters. Matthews and Claire Robinson are its directors and managing editors.
CGS works to ensure that social justice, equity, human rights, and democratic governance are front...