Friday, December 12, 2008

Genetic cause of AF identified


Genetic cause of AF identified


12 December 2008

MedWire News: A rare and particularly severe form of atrial fibrillation (AF) can be caused by a genetic mutation affecting nucleocytoplasmic transport, an international research team has discovered.

The defect in the nucleoporin 155 (NUP155) gene, a key component of the nuclear pore complex, leads to AF in homozygous carriers and also seems to be associated with highly variable heart rates and early sudden cardiac death.

The finding is reported in journal Cell by Zianqin Zhang (Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, USA) and colleagues, whose previous work with a large AF-affected family mapped a locus for autosomal recessive AF to chromosome 5p13 (arAF1). /.../

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