ALIGATOR analysis also found evidence in the AA sample for over-representation of genes; these were primarily related to lipid and cholesterol metabolism as well as functions such as regulation of cell adhesion and insulation signaling, which overlap with those found in the EA sample. Recent work on lipid metabolism has highlighted a complex pathway of interacting proteins such as PPARα (peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor-α), SREBP (sterol regulatory element-binding protein) proteins which regulate cholesterol and fatty acid synthesis, cytokines and signaling proteins such as NF-κB (nuclear factor-κB) (Sozio and Crabb 2008).
