To predict the impact of a genetic variant in RNA conformation, several algorithms have been developed.84,85 For example, applying the SNPfold algorithm to all known disease-associated SNPs from the Human Gene Mutation Database, and mapping in the UTRs, Halvorsen and colleagues identified 6 diseases (hyperferritinemia cataract syndrome, β-thalassemia, cartilage-hair hypoplasia, retinoblastoma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and hypertension) where multiple SNPs, in the UTRs of disease-associated genes were predicted to cause RNA conformational change.79
