02/15/2019
Research Article
An African-specific haplotype in MRGPRX4 is associated with menthol cigarette smoking
In the US, more than 80% of African-American smokers use mentholated cigarettes, compared to less than 30% of Caucasian smokers. By performing an exome-wide association study, Kozlitina, Risso et al find a significant association between menthol cigarette use and variants in MRGPRX4, a G-protein coupled receptor expressed in sensory neurons. The authors further find that the variant haplotype is found only in populations of African ancestry.
Image credit: markusspiske, Pixabay, CC0
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