Related Experiment Video
Updated: May 7, 2026

A Phenotyping Regimen for Genetically Modified Mice Used to Study Genes Implicated in Human Diseases of Aging
Published on: July 14, 2016
Identification of a rare coding variant in complement 3 associated with age-related macular degeneration
Xiaowei Zhan1, David E Larson, Chaolong Wang
11] Department of Biostatistics, Center for Statistical Genetics, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA. [2].
Abstract:
Macular degeneration is a common cause of blindness in the elderly. To identify rare coding variants associated with a large increase in risk of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), we sequenced 2,335 cases and 789 controls in 10 candidate loci (57 genes). To increase power, we augmented our control set with ancestry-matched exome-sequenced controls. An analysis of coding variation in 2,268 AMD cases and 2,268 ancestry-matched controls identified 2 large-effect rare variants: previously described p.Arg1210Cys encoded in the CFH gene (case frequency (fcase) = 0.51%; control frequency (fcontrol) = 0.02%; odds ratio (OR) = 23.11) and newly identified p.Lys155Gln encoded in the C3 gene (fcase = 1.06%; fcontrol = 0.39%; OR = 2.68). The variants suggest decreased inhibition of C3 by complement factor H, resulting in increased activation of the alternative complement pathway, as a key component of disease biology.
Related Concept Videos
Comparing Copy Number Variations and SNPs
Copy number variations or CNVs are the structural variations that cover more than 1kb of DNA sequence. The single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP), on the other hand, is a single nucleotide change or a point mutation that is found in more than 1%...
Exon Recombination
Exon shuffling follows “splice frame rules.” Each exon has three reading...
The Retinoblastoma Gene
The first-ever tumor suppressor gene called Rb was identified in retinoblastoma - a rare eye tumor in children. In inherited forms of the disease, a child inherits one defective copy of the Rb gene, which predisposes them to retinoblastoma. However,...
Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms-SNPs

