10/24/2023 – RGD announces an updated Cardiovascular Disease Portal

Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death globally [https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/cardiovascular-diseases-(cvds)]. Of CVD deaths, 85% were heart attack and stroke. Behavioral CVD risk factors include tobacco and/or alcohol use, diet and obesity, and physical inactivity. CVD also may involve congenital, rheumatic and endocarditis conditions. The keys to cardiovascular disease reduction include behavior management but also interventions such as pharmaceutical and surgical treatment, and medical device options. Genes control every aspect of the cardiovascular system, from the strength of the blood vessels to the way cells in the heart communicate (https://www.rwjbh.org/treatment-care/heart-and-vascular-care/diseases-conditions/inherited-cardiovascular-disease/). Genetic variations affect the likelihood of developing CVDs as well as responses to interventions. The Cardiovascular Disease Portal provides focused access to genes, ontologies, references, and tools. More than 500 genes that were already annotated in RGD but warranted renewed review were ranked from external sources, and 200+ additional genes were identified for curator literature review. Curators reviewed large numbers of scientific literature references to make 1616 new experimental CVD annotations using 903 references resulting in 719 genes having new experimental CVD annotations. The CVD Portal page currently includes data linking cardiovascular disease to 4455 rat genes, 704 rat QTLs and 175 rat strains. This portal contains data for genes related to cardiovascular system diseases and facilitates research using RGD tools designed for comparative analyses of diseases, and associated genes, strains, phenotypes, and other ontologies. In particular RGD’s Multi-Ontology Enrichment Tool (MOET) is embedded within each Disease Portal for analyses. Additionally, users can view and download genes annotated to disorders, view genes in genomic context, or compare them across any of ten species (rat, human, mouse, dog, pig, squirrel, bonobo, chinchilla, naked mole-rat, green monkey). Access is provided to references, analysis tools, rat strain models of disease, and related resource links. For the Cardiovascular Disease Portal, click HERE. RGD has also developed and previously released 14 other Disease Portals, which have a common landing page: Disease Portals Landing Page.