PharmGKBlog

PharmGKB website updates

Thu, 8 May 2008 13:15:25 -0700

PharmGKB has updated its home page look, and (more importantly) introduced two important new features to the site. The new home page is streamlined and should have faster response time. The clickable buttons at the top have been re-organized, and now include a button “variants of interest” that lists all variants that have been specifically associated with potential pharmacogenomics significance. We have 181 labeled variants currently (they are highlighted in variant browser for individual genes with 1,2 or 3 stars based on the level of curation), and we are now working to increase those numbers in coming months. The other new features is the addition of automatic text processing of full text to find mentions of genes, drugs, phenotypes, and variants in articles--these are now found on the “Non-curated publications” tab and show they concepts that have been identified by our computer algorithms in full text articles.

GINA passed by U.S. Senate!

Thu, 8 May 2008 11:39:14 -0700

I am thrilled that the Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act (GINA, S 358) was passed by a Senate vote 95-0 on May 7, 2008. GINA prevents insurance companies from raising rates or denying coverage based on genetic predispositions. It also includes some other protections against abuse by employers. Some of us in the pharmacogenomoics community have argued strongly for this type of bill, and so it is exciting to see that it is still alive. It passed in the House earlier 414-1 (Ron Paul voted no).

New Curator: Dorit Berlin

Thu, 8 May 2008 11:32:06 -0700

The PharmGKB team is happy to welcome a new curator to the team. Dr. Dorit Berlin did her doctoral studies at UC Berkeley in Molecular and Cell Biology, focusing on C. elegans development. She also has done work on RNA splicing and cancer drug pharmacodynamics. Dorit brings a special interest in public education in pharmacogenomics, particularly at the K-12 level.

New warfarin PK gene: CYP4F2

Fri, 15 Feb 2008 10:30:41 -0800

The warfarin pharmacogenetics community was excited to learn of a new gene important for the pharmacokinetics of warfarin response, CYP4F2. In the Feb 4, 2008 issue of Blood (Pubmed ID 18250228), PGRN affiliated member Michael Caldwell and coworkers reported that a SNP (rs2108622 = V433M) in this gene was associated with a 1 mg/day difference in required warfarin dose to achieve target levels of anticoagulation. Thus, CYP4F2 seems to join VKORC1 and CYP2C9 as an important genetic component to warfarin response.

PGx engages genome epidemiology network

Thu, 31 Jan 2008 10:21:33 -0800

PharmGKB recently participated in a HuGENet workshop hosted by Muin Khoury at the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in Atlanta. We were particularly interested in the session entitled "Networks, Genome-Wide Association Studies, and the Knowledge Base on Genetic Variation and Human Health." The goal of this important activity is to assess the potential impact of genomics on public health, and be sure that genomic information is catalogued and used appropriately. The HuGE Navigator is a great database that is continuously curating the literature on human genome epidemiology. As such, it is an important cousin to PharmGKB!