Modified entropy-based procedure detects gene-gene-interactions in unconventional genetic models

摘要

It is generally assumed that genetic interactions play an important role in understanding the mechanisms of complex diseases such as coronary heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, breast cancer or diabetes [ ]. In the statistical sense, interaction refers to a situation in which the effect of one factor depends on the values of another factor on a given scale. In our case, genetic interactions come in two flavours. Firstly, interactions between genetic loci, usually termed gene-gene interactions or epistasis, occur, as described for rheumatoid arthritis (RA) [ – ]. Specifically, Liu et al. [ ] described interactions between the locations DQA2 and DQB2 in the HLA region on chromosome 6. Secondly, gene-environment interactions denote interactions between genetic and environmental factors [ ]. For example, Chandra et al. reported that the interaction between serum cholesterol levels and the sigma4 genotype [ ] plays a role in Alzheimer’s disease.