Partial correlation is the correlation found between two variables that is presents after controlling for and removing the effect of one or more other variables. It can be used to determine the most likely set of cis-modulated genes within upstream regulatory regions. In order to find genes significantly correlated with Cd14, we performed partial correlation analysis controlling for the genotype at the Cd14 locus after genetic correlation analysis. Genes that were connected only genetically to the Cd14 locus were eliminated, leaving genes that were both genetically and biologically related to Cd14 to be further analyzed.
