These SNPs were chosen because they fulfilled one or more of the following criteria: (i) they encoded non-synonymous and potentially functional coding changes in CFH (rs1061170, rs800292) or CFHR1 (rs388862); (ii) they were strongly associated with plasma CFH or CFHR1 concentration in the GWAS, including non-coding SNPs rs2019727, rs1048663, rs6677604, rs1329428, rs412852, rs11582939 and the CNP147 deletion (Fig. 1); (iii) they were the SNPs most strongly associated with AMD in other studies (rs2274700, rs1410996) (23,24). Here, CFH is linked to age-related macular degeneration.