In 2007, Texas Biomed geneticists announced their discovery that a particular gene, VNN1, plays a major role in the regulation of HDL cholesterol levels, a finding with clear implications for heart disease prevention.

In addition, because VNN1 produces cysteamine, which helps transport toxic substances from cells – including excess cystine and glutamine – this gene could become the focus of novel efforts to prevent or treat a variety of disorders, including Huntington’s, Alzheimer’s and cystinosis.