Genomic Strategies Toward Identification of Novel Therapeutic Targets

Coronary artery disease, myocardial infarction, and secondary damages of the myocardium in the form of ischemic heart disease remain major causes of death in Western countries. Beyond traditional risk factors such as smoking, hypertension, dyslipidemia, or diabetes, a positive family history is known to increase risk. The genetic factors underlying this observation remained unknown for decades until genetic studies were able to identify multiple genomic loci contributing to the heritability of the trait. Knowledge of the affected genes and the resulting molecular and cellular mechanisms leads to improved understanding of the pathophysiology leading to coronary atherosclerosis. Major goals are also to improve prevention and therapy of coronary artery disease and its sequelae via improved risk prediction tools and pharmacological targets. In this chapter, we recapitulate recent major findings. We focus on established novel targets and discuss possible further targets which are currently explored in translational studies.