Publications
193 results found
Walsh KM, Codd V, Smirnov IV, et al., 2014, Variants near <i>TERT</i> and <i>TERC</i> influencing telomere length are associated with high-grade glioma risk, NATURE GENETICS, Vol: 46, Pages: 731-735, ISSN: 1061-4036
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- Citations: 142
Buxton JL, Das S, Rodriguez A, et al., 2014, Multiple Measures of Adiposity Are Associated with Mean Leukocyte Telomere Length in the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966, PLOS One, Vol: 9, ISSN: 1932-6203
Studies of leukocyte telomere length (LTL) and adiposity have produced conflicting results, and the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and telomere length throughout life remains unclear. We therefore tested association of adult LTL measured in 5,598 participants with: i) childhood growth measures (BMI and age at adiposity rebound (AR)); ii) change in BMI from childhood to adulthood and iii) adult BMI, waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), body adiposity index (BAI). Childhood BMI at AR was positively associated with LTL at 31 years in women (P = 0.041). Adult BMI and WHR in both men (P = 0.025 and P = 0.049, respectively) and women (P = 0.029 and P = 0.008, respectively), and BAI in women (P = 0.021) were inversely associated with LTL at 31 years. An increase in standardised BMI between early childhood and adulthood was associated with shorter adult LTL in women (P = 0.008). We show that LTL is inversely associated with multiple measures of adiposity in both men and women. Additionally, BMI increase in women from childhood to adulthood is associated with shorter telomeres at age 31, potentially indicating accelerated biological ageing.
Buxton JL, Suderman M, Pappas JJ, et al., 2014, Human leukocyte telomere length is associated with DNA methylation levels in multiple subtelomeric and imprinted loci, SCIENTIFIC REPORTS, Vol: 4, ISSN: 2045-2322
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- Citations: 55
Martins-Taylor K, Hsiao JS, Chen P-F, et al., 2014, Imprinted expression of <i>UBE3A</i> in non-neuronal cells from a PraderWilli syndrome patient with an atypical deletion, HUMAN MOLECULAR GENETICS, Vol: 23, Pages: 2364-2373, ISSN: 0964-6906
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- Citations: 40
Albrecht E, Sillanpaa E, Karrasch S, et al., 2014, Telomere length in circulating leukocytes is associated with lung function and disease, EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL, Vol: 43, Pages: 983-992, ISSN: 0903-1936
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- Citations: 85
Blakemore AIF, Buxton JL, 2014, Obesity, genetic risk, and environment, BMJ-BRITISH MEDICAL JOURNAL, Vol: 348, ISSN: 1756-1833
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- Citations: 9
Ala-Mursula L, Buxton JL, Ek E, et al., 2013, Long-term unemployment is associated with short telomeres in 31-year-old men: an observational study in the northern Finland birth cohort 1966, PLoS One, Vol: 8, Pages: 1-8, ISSN: 1932-6203
ObjectiveLife stress resulting from early-life experiences and domestic stress is linked with shorter leukocyte telomere length (LTL), but evidence on employment-related stress is scarce. We explored whether unemployment in early adulthood is associated with shorter LTL, a potential biomarker of premature aging.MethodsWe used data from 5620 men and women belonging to the Northern Finland Birth Cohort 1966. Individually registered unemployment days in 1995–97 were compared with data on biological, behavioral and socioeconomic health predictors and existing medical conditions obtained by surveys and clinical examinations at follow-up in 1997–98. Mean LTL at follow-up was measured by multiplex quantitative real-time PCR. We calculated odds ratios and their 95% confidence intervals (CI) of belonging to the sex-stratified shortest decile of standardized relative mean LTL according to the categories of: 0, <260, <500 and over 500 unemployment days, representing 0, <1, <2 and over 2 calendar years.ResultsAmong men, unemployment exceeding 500 days during three years was associated with having shorter LTL at follow-up, compared to being continuously employed. The corresponding odds ratio was 2.61 (95% CI 1.16 to 5.85) in the fully adjusted model. Such an association was not found among women in this study.ConclusionsLong-term unemployment in early adulthood is associated with shorter LTL among men.
Evans DM, Brion MJA, Paternoster L, et al., 2013, Mining the Human Phenome Using Allelic Scores That Index Biological Intermediates, PLOS GENETICS, Vol: 9, ISSN: 1553-7404
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- Citations: 49
Schulz H, Sillanpaa E, Karrasch S, et al., 2013, Telomere length in circulating leukocytes is associated with lung function and disease, EUROPEAN RESPIRATORY JOURNAL, Vol: 42, ISSN: 0903-1936
Al-Hassi HO, Bernardo D, Murugananthan AU, et al., 2013, A mechanistic role for leptin in human dendritic cell migration: differences between ileum and colon in health and Crohn's disease, Mucosal Immunology, Vol: 6, Pages: 751-761, ISSN: 1933-0219
Dendritic cells (DC) migrate to lymph nodes on expression of C-C motif chemokine receptor 7 (CCR7) and control immune activity. Leptin, an immunomodulatory adipokine, functions via leptin receptors, signaling via the long isoform of receptor, LepRb. Leptin promotes DC maturation and increases CCR7 expression on blood DC. Increased mesenteric fat and leptin occur early in Crohn's disease (CD), suggesting leptin-mediated change in intestinal CCR7 expression on DC as a pro-inflammatory mechanism. We have demonstrated CCR7 expression and capacity to migrate to its ligand macrophage inflammatory protein 3beta in normal human ileal DC but not colonic or blood DC. In CD, functional CCR7 was expressed on DC from all sites. Only DC populations containing CCR7-expressing cells produced LepRb; in vitro exposure to leptin also increased expression of functional CCR7 in intestinal DC in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, leptin may regulate DC migration from gut, in homeostatic and inflammatory conditions, providing a link between mesenteric obesity and inflammation.
Taal HR, St Pourcain B, Thiering E, et al., 2013, Common variants at 12q15 and 12q24 are associated with infant head circumference (vol 44, pg 532, 2012), NATURE GENETICS, Vol: 45, Pages: 713-713, ISSN: 1061-4036
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- Citations: 1
Walters RG, Coin LJ, Ruokonen A, et al., 2013, Rare genomic structural variants in complex disease: lessons from the replication of associations with obesity, PLoS One, Vol: 8, ISSN: 1932-6203
The limited ability of common variants to account for the genetic contribution to complex disease has prompted searches for rare variants of large effect, to partly explain the 'missing heritability'. Analyses of genome-wide genotyping data have identified genomic structural variants (GSVs) as a source of such rare causal variants. Recent studies have reported multiple GSV loci associated with risk of obesity. We attempted to replicate these associations by similar analysis of two familial-obesity case-control cohorts and a population cohort, and detected GSVs at 11 out of 18 loci, at frequencies similar to those previously reported. Based on their reported frequencies and effect sizes (OR>/=25), we had sufficient statistical power to detect the large majority (80%) of genuine associations at these loci. However, only one obesity association was replicated. Deletion of a 220 kb region on chromosome 16p11.2 has a carrier population frequency of 2x10(-4) (95% confidence interval [9.6x10(-5)-3.1x10(-4)]); accounts overall for 0.5% [0.19%-0.82%] of severe childhood obesity cases (P = 3.8x10(-10); odds ratio = 25.0 [9.9-60.6]); and results in a mean body mass index (BMI) increase of 5.8 kg.m(-2) [1.8-10.3] in adults from the general population. We also attempted replication using BMI as a quantitative trait in our population cohort; associations with BMI at or near nominal significance were detected at two further loci near KIF2B and within FOXP2, but these did not survive correction for multiple testing. These findings emphasise several issues of importance when conducting rare GSV association, including the need for careful cohort selection and replication strategy, accurate GSV identification, and appropriate correction for multiple testing and/or control of false discovery rate. Moreover, they highlight the potential difficulty in replicating rare CNV associations across different populations. Nevertheless, we show that such studies are potentially valuable for th
Vimaleswaran KS, Berry DJ, Lu C, et al., 2013, Causal Relationship between Obesity and Vitamin D Status: Bi-Directional Mendelian Randomization Analysis of Multiple Cohorts, PLOS Medicine, Vol: 10, ISSN: 1549-1277
Background: Obesity is associated with vitamin D deficiency, and both are areas of active public health concern. We explored the causality and direction of the relationship between body mass index (BMI) and 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] using genetic markers as instrumental variables (IVs) in bi-directional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis.Methods and Findings: We used information from 21 adult cohorts (up to 42,024 participants) with 12 BMI-related SNPs (combined in an allelic score) to produce an instrument for BMI and four SNPs associated with 25(OH)D (combined in two allelic scores, separately for genes encoding its synthesis or metabolism) as an instrument for vitamin D. Regression estimates for the IVs (allele scores) were generated within-study and pooled by meta-analysis to generate summary effects.Associations between vitamin D scores and BMI were confirmed in the Genetic Investigation of Anthropometric Traits (GIANT) consortium (n = 123,864). Each 1 kg/m2 higher BMI was associated with 1.15% lower 25(OH)D (p = 6.52×10−27). The BMI allele score was associated both with BMI (p = 6.30×10−62) and 25(OH)D (−0.06% [95% CI −0.10 to −0.02], p = 0.004) in the cohorts that underwent meta-analysis. The two vitamin D allele scores were strongly associated with 25(OH)D (p≤8.07×10−57 for both scores) but not with BMI (synthesis score, p = 0.88; metabolism score, p = 0.08) in the meta-analysis. A 10% higher genetically instrumented BMI was associated with 4.2% lower 25(OH)D concentrations (IV ratio: −4.2 [95% CI −7.1 to −1.3], p = 0.005). No association was seen for genetically instrumented 25(OH)D with BMI, a finding that was confirmed using data from the GIANT consortium (p≥0.57 for both vitamin D scores).Conclusions: On the basis of a bi-directional genetic approach that limits confounding, our study suggests that a higher BMI leads to lower 25(OH)D, while any effects of lower 25(OH)D i
Dorajoo R, Li R, Ikram MK, et al., 2013, Are C-reactive protein associated genetic variants associated with serum levels and retinal markers of microvascular pathology in Asian populations from Singapore?, PLoS One, Vol: 8, ISSN: 1932-6203
INTRODUCTION: C-reactive protein (CRP) levels are associated with cardiovascular disease and systemic inflammation. We assessed whether CRP-associated loci were associated with serum CRP and retinal markers of microvascular disease, in Asian populations. METHODS: Genome-wide association analysis (GWAS) for serum CRP was performed in East-Asian Chinese (N = 2,434) and Malays (N = 2,542) and South-Asian Indians (N = 2,538) from Singapore. Leveraging on GWAS data, we assessed, in silico, association levels among the Singaporean datasets for 22 recently identified CRP-associated loci. At loci where directional inconsistencies were observed, quantification of inter-ethnic linkage disequilibrium (LD) difference was determined. Next, we assessed association for a variant at CRP and retinal vessel traits [central retinal artery equivalent (CRAE) and central retinal vein equivalent (CRVE)] in a total of 24,132 subjects of East-Asian, South-Asian and European ancestry. RESULTS: Serum CRP was associated with SNPs in/near APOE, CRP, HNF1A and LEPR (p-values </=4.7x10(-8)) after meta-analysis of Singaporean populations. Using a candidate-SNP approach, we further replicated SNPs at 4 additional loci that had been recently identified to be associated with serum CRP (IL6R, GCKR, IL6 and IL1F10) (p-values </=0.009), in the Singaporean datasets. SNPs from these 8 loci explained 4.05% of variance in serum CRP. Two SNPs (rs2847281 and rs6901250) were detected to be significant (p-value </=0.036) but with opposite effect directions in the Singaporean populations as compared to original European studies. At these loci we did not detect significant inter-population LD differences. We further did not observe a significant association between CRP variant and CRVE or CRAE levels after meta-analysis of all Singaporean and European datasets (p-value >0.058). CONCLUSIONS: Common variants associated with serum CRP, first detected in primarily European studies, are also associated wit
Codd V, Nelson CP, Albrecht E, et al., 2013, Identification of seven loci affecting mean telomere length and their association with disease, Nat Genet, Vol: 45, Pages: 422-427e2, ISSN: 1546-1718
Interindividual variation in mean leukocyte telomere length (LTL) is associated with cancer and several age-associated diseases. We report here a genome-wide meta-analysis of 37,684 individuals with replication of selected variants in an additional 10,739 individuals. We identified seven loci, including five new loci, associated with mean LTL (P < 5 x 10(-8)). Five of the loci contain candidate genes (TERC, TERT, NAF1, OBFC1 and RTEL1) that are known to be involved in telomere biology. Lead SNPs at two loci (TERC and TERT) associate with several cancers and other diseases, including idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis. Moreover, a genetic risk score analysis combining lead variants at all 7 loci in 22,233 coronary artery disease cases and 64,762 controls showed an association of the alleles associated with shorter LTL with increased risk of coronary artery disease (21% (95% confidence interval, 5-35%) per standard deviation in LTL, P = 0.014). Our findings support a causal role of telomere-length variation in some age-related diseases.
Horikoshi M, Yaghootkar H, Mook-Kanamori DO, et al., 2012, New loci associated with birth weight identify genetic links between intrauterine growth and adult height and metabolism, Nature Genetics, Vol: 45, Pages: 76-82, ISSN: 1546-1718
Birth weight within the normal range is associated with a variety of adult-onset diseases, but the mechanisms behind these associations are poorly understood1. Previous genome-wide association studies of birth weight identified a variant in the ADCY5 gene associated both with birth weight and type 2 diabetes and a second variant, near CCNL1, with no obvious link to adult traits2. In an expanded genome-wide association meta-analysis and follow-up study of birth weight (of up to 69,308 individuals of European descent from 43 studies), we have now extended the number of loci associated at genome-wide significance to 7, accounting for a similar proportion of variance as maternal smoking. Five of the loci are known to be associated with other phenotypes: ADCY5 and CDKAL1 with type 2 diabetes, ADRB1 with adult blood pressure and HMGA2 and LCORL with adult height. Our findings highlight genetic links between fetal growth and postnatal growth and metabolism.
Buxton J, Walters RG, Das S, et al., 2012, Genetic and environmental influences on leukocyte telomere length: studies in Northern Finns reveal gender differences, British Human Genetics Conference, Publisher: BMJ PUBLISHING GROUP, Pages: S23-S23, ISSN: 0022-2593
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Taal HR, St Pourcain B, Thiering E, et al., 2012, Common variants at 12q15 and 12q24 are associated with infant head circumference, Nat Genet, Vol: 44, Pages: 532-538, ISSN: 1061-4036
, 2012, A genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies new childhood obesity loci, Nat Genet, Vol: 44, Pages: 526-531, ISSN: 1061-4036
Noseda M, De Smith AJ, Leja T, et al., 2012, The Cdkn2a/2b tumour suppressor locus is a hot spot for genome instability in mouse cardiac progenitor cells, 2nd Congress of the European-Society-of-Cardiology Council on Basic Cardiovascular Science - Frontiers in Cardiovascular Biology, Publisher: OXFORD UNIV PRESS, Pages: S59-S59, ISSN: 0008-6363
El-Sayed Moustafa JS, Eleftherohorinou H, de Smith AJ, et al., 2012, Novel association approach for variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs) identifies DOCK5 as a susceptibility gene for severe obesity, Hum Mol Genet, Vol: 21, Pages: 3727-3738, ISSN: 1460-2083
Variable number tandem repeats (VNTRs) constitute a relatively under-examined class of genomic variants in the context of complex disease because of their sequence complexity and the challenges in assaying them. Recent large-scale genome-wide copy number variant mapping and association efforts have highlighted the need for improved methodology for association studies using these complex polymorphisms. Here we describe the in-depth investigation of a complex region on chromosome 8p21.2 encompassing the dedicator of cytokinesis 5 (DOCK5) gene. The region includes two VNTRs of complex sequence composition which flank a common 3975 bp deletion, all three of which were genotyped by polymerase chain reaction and fragment analysis in a total of 2744 subjects. We have developed a novel VNTR association method named VNTRtest, suitable for association analysis of multi-allelic loci with binary and quantitative outcomes, and have used this approach to show significant association of the DOCK5 VNTRs with childhood and adult severe obesity (P(empirical)= 8.9 x 10(-8) and P= 3.1 x 10(-3), respectively) which we estimate explains ~0.8% of the phenotypic variance. We also identified an independent association between the 3975 base pair (bp) deletion and obesity, explaining a further 0.46% of the variance (P(combined)= 1.6 x 10(-3)). Evidence for association between DOCK5 transcript levels and the 3975 bp deletion (P= 0.027) and both VNTRs (P(empirical)= 0.015) was also identified in adipose tissue from a Swedish family sample, providing support for a functional effect of the DOCK5 deletion and VNTRs. These findings highlight the potential role of DOCK5 in human obesity and illustrate a novel approach for analysis of the contribution of VNTRs to disease susceptibility through association studies.
Howitt P, Darzi A, Yang GZ, et al., 2012, Technologies for global health, The Lancet, Vol: 380, Pages: 507-535
Costelloe SJ, El-Sayed Moustafa JS, Drenos F, et al., 2012, Gene-targeted analysis of copy number variants identifies 3 novel associations with coronary heart disease traits, Circ Cardiovasc Genet, Vol: 5, Pages: 555-560, ISSN: 1942-3268
BACKGROUND: Copy number variants (CNVs) are a major form of genomic variation, which may be implicated in complex disease phenotypes. However, investigation of the role of CNVs in coronary heart disease (CHD) traits has been limited. METHODS AND RESULTS: We examined the use of the cnvHap algorithm for CNV detection, using data for 2500 men from the Second Northwick Park Heart Study (NPHS-II). An Illumina custom chip, including 722 single-nucleotide polymorphisms covering 76 coronary heart disease-trait genes, was used. Common CNVs were significantly associated (at P<0.05, after correction) with coronary heart disease phenotypes in 5 genes. Novel associations of CNVs in toll-like receptor-4 with apolipoprotein AI were replicated (P<0.05) in the Whitehall II cohort (4887 subjects), whereas newly described associations of CNVs in sterol regulatory element-binding protein with apolipoprotein AI and associations of interleukin-6 signal transducer with apolipoprotein B were replicated in the data from 3546 subjects from the North Finnish Birth Cohort 1966 (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: This study supports the use of CNV detection algorithms such as cnvHap as potential tools for the identification of novel CNVs, some of which show significant association and replication with coronary heart disease risk phenotypes. However, the functional basis for these associations requires further substantiation.
Dorajoo R, Blakemore AI, Sim X, et al., 2012, Replication of 13 obesity loci among Singaporean Chinese, Malay and Asian-Indian populations, Int J Obes (Lond), Vol: 36, Pages: 159-163, ISSN: 1476-5497
OBJECTIVE: Recent genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified 38 obesity-associated loci among European populations. However, their contribution to obesity in other ethnicities is largely unknown. METHODS: We utilised five GWAS (N=10 482) from Chinese (three cohorts, including one with type 2 diabetes and another one of children), Malay and Indian ethnic groups from Singapore. Data sets were analysed individually and subsequently in combined meta-analysis for Z-score body-mass index (BMI) associations. RESULTS: Variants at the FTO locus showed the strongest associations with BMI Z-score after meta-analysis (P-values 1.16 x 10(-7)-7.95 x 10(-7)). We further detected associations with nine other index obesity variants close to the MC4R, GNPDA2, TMEM18, QPCTL/GIPR, BDNF, ETV5, MAP2K5/SKOR1, SEC16B and TNKS/MSRA loci (meta-analysis P-values ranging from 3.58 x 10(-4)-1.44 x 10(-2)). Three other single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from CADM2, PTBP2 and FAIM2 were associated with BMI (P-value </= 0.0418) in at least one dataset. The neurotrophin/TRK pathway (P-value=0.029) was highlighted by pathway-based analysis of loci that had statistically significant associations among Singaporean populations. CONCLUSION: Our data confirm the role of FTO in obesity predisposition among Chinese, Malays and Indians, the three major Asian ethnic groups. We additionally detected associations for 12 obesity-associated SNPs among Singaporeans. Thus, it is likely that Europeans and Asians share some of the genetic predisposition to obesity. Furthermore, the neurotrophin/TRK signalling may have a central role for common obesity among Asians.
Munro J, Skrobot O, Sanyoura M, et al., 2012, Relaxin polymorphisms associated with metabolic disturbance in patients treated with antipsychotics, J Psychopharmacol, Vol: 26, Pages: 374-379, ISSN: 1461-7285
People with schizophrenia have an increased risk of metabolic syndrome, with consequent elevated morbidity and mortality, largely due to cardiovascular disease. Metabolic disorders comprise obesity, dyslipidemia and elevated levels of triglycerides, hypertension, and disturbed insulin and glucose metabolism. The elevated risk of metabolic syndrome in individuals suffering from schizophrenia is believed to be multifactorial, related to a genetic predisposition, lifestyle characteristics and treatment with antipsychotic medications. Relaxin 3 (RLN3, also known as INSL7) is a recently identified member of the insulin/relaxin superfamily that plays a role in the regulation of appetite and body weight control. RLN3 stimulates relaxin-3 receptor 1 (relaxin/insulin-like family peptide receptor 3, RXFP3) and relaxin receptor 2 (relaxin/insulin-like family peptide receptor 4, RXFP4). We have investigated the role of ten polymorphisms in these genes (RLN3 rs12327666, rs1982632, and rs7249702, RLN3R1 rs42868, rs6861957, rs7702361, and rs35399, and RLN3R2 rs11264422, rs1018730 and rs12124383) in the occurrence of metabolic syndrome phenotypes (obesity, diabetes, hypercholesterolemia, hypertrigyceridemia, and hypertension) in a cross-sectional cohort of 419 US Caucasian patients treated with antipsychotic drugs. We found several associations between relaxin polymorphisms and hypecholesterolemia, obesity and diabetes, suggesting a role for the relaxin/insulin pathway in the development of metabolic disturbance observed in patients treated with antipsychotics.
Mul JD, Begg DP, Alsters SI, et al., 2012, Effect of vertical sleeve gastrectomy in melanocortin receptor 4-deficient rats, Am J Physiol Endocrinol Metab, Vol: 303, Pages: E103-E110, ISSN: 1522-1555
Bariatric surgery is currently the most effective treatment for obesity. Vertical sleeve gastrectomy (VSG), a commonly applied bariatric procedure, involves surgically incising most of the volume of the stomach. In humans, partial loss of melanocortin receptor-4 (MC4R) activity is the most common monogenic correlate of obesity regardless of lifestyle. At present it is unclear whether genetic alteration of MC4R signaling modulates the beneficial effects of VSG. Following VSG, we analyzed body weight, food intake, glucose sensitivity, and macronutrient preference of wild-type and MC4R-deficient (Mc4r(+/-) and Mc4r(-/-)) rats compared with sham-operated controls. VSG reduced body weight and fat mass and improved glucose metabolism and also shifted preference toward carbohydrates and away from fat. All of this occurred independently of MC4R activity. In addition, MC4R was resequenced in 46 human subjects who underwent VSG. We observed common genetic variations in the coding sequence of MC4R in five subjects. However, none of those variations appeared to affect the outcome of VSG. Taken together, these data suggest that the beneficial effect of VSG on body weight and glucose metabolism is not mediated by alterations in MC4R activity.
Paternoster L, Standl M, Chen CM, et al., 2011, Meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies identifies three new risk loci for atopic dermatitis, Nature Genetics, Vol: 44, Pages: 187-192, ISSN: 1546-1718
Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a commonly occurring chronic skin disease with high heritability. Apart from filaggrin (FLG), the genes influencing atopic dermatitis are largely unknown. We conducted a genome-wide association meta-analysis of 5,606 affected individuals and 20,565 controls from 16 population-based cohorts and then examined the ten most strongly associated new susceptibility loci in an additional 5,419 affected individuals and 19,833 controls from 14 studies. Three SNPs reached genome-wide significance in the discovery and replication cohorts combined, including rs479844 upstream of OVOL1 (odds ratio (OR) = 0.88, P = 1.1 x 10(-13)) and rs2164983 near ACTL9 (OR = 1.16, P = 7.1 x 10(-9)), both of which are near genes that have been implicated in epidermal proliferation and differentiation, as well as rs2897442 in KIF3A within the cytokine cluster at 5q31.1 (OR = 1.11, P = 3.8 x 10(-8)). We also replicated association with the FLG locus and with two recently identified association signals at 11q13.5 (rs7927894; P = 0.008) and 20q13.33 (rs6010620; P = 0.002). Our results underline the importance of both epidermal barrier function and immune dysregulation in atopic dermatitis pathogenesis.
Strawbridge RJ, Dupuis J, Prokopenko I, et al., 2011, Genome-Wide Association Identifies Nine Common Variants Associated With Fasting Proinsulin Levels and Provides New Insights Into the Pathophysiology of Type 2 Diabetes, Diabetes, Vol: 60, Pages: 2624-2634, ISSN: 0012-1797
OBJECTIVE Proinsulin is a precursor of mature insulin and C-peptide. Higher circulating proinsulin levels are associated with impaired β-cell function, raised glucose levels, insulin resistance, and type 2 diabetes (T2D). Studies of the insulin processing pathway could provide new insights about T2D pathophysiology.RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS We have conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association tests of ∼2.5 million genotyped or imputed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and fasting proinsulin levels in 10,701 nondiabetic adults of European ancestry, with follow-up of 23 loci in up to 16,378 individuals, using additive genetic models adjusted for age, sex, fasting insulin, and study-specific covariates.RESULTS Nine SNPs at eight loci were associated with proinsulin levels (P < 5 × 10−8). Two loci (LARP6 and SGSM2) have not been previously related to metabolic traits, one (MADD) has been associated with fasting glucose, one (PCSK1) has been implicated in obesity, and four (TCF7L2, SLC30A8, VPS13C/C2CD4A/B, and ARAP1, formerly CENTD2) increase T2D risk. The proinsulin-raising allele of ARAP1 was associated with a lower fasting glucose (P = 1.7 × 10−4), improved β-cell function (P = 1.1 × 10−5), and lower risk of T2D (odds ratio 0.88; P = 7.8 × 10−6). Notably, PCSK1 encodes the protein prohormone convertase 1/3, the first enzyme in the insulin processing pathway. A genotype score composed of the nine proinsulin-raising alleles was not associated with coronary disease in two large case-control datasets.CONCLUSIONS We have identified nine genetic variants associated with fasting proinsulin. Our findings illuminate the biology underlying glucose homeostasis and T2D development in humans and argue against a direct role of proinsulin in coronary artery disease pathogenesis.
Speliotes EK, Yerges-Armstrong LM, Wu J, et al., 2011, Genome-wide association analysis identifies variants associated with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease that have distinct effects on metabolic traits, PLOS Genetics, Vol: 7, ISSN: 1553-7390
Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) clusters in families, but the only known common genetic variants influencing risk are near PNPLA3. We sought to identify additional genetic variants influencing NAFLD using genome-wide association (GWA) analysis of computed tomography (CT) measured hepatic steatosis, a non-invasive measure of NAFLD, in large population based samples. Using variance components methods, we show that CT hepatic steatosis is heritable ( approximately 26%-27%) in family-based Amish, Family Heart, and Framingham Heart Studies (n = 880 to 3,070). By carrying out a fixed-effects meta-analysis of genome-wide association (GWA) results between CT hepatic steatosis and approximately 2.4 million imputed or genotyped SNPs in 7,176 individuals from the Old Order Amish, Age, Gene/Environment Susceptibility-Reykjavik study (AGES), Family Heart, and Framingham Heart Studies, we identify variants associated at genome-wide significant levels (p<5x10(-8)) in or near PNPLA3, NCAN, and PPP1R3B. We genotype these and 42 other top CT hepatic steatosis-associated SNPs in 592 subjects with biopsy-proven NAFLD from the NASH Clinical Research Network (NASH CRN). In comparisons with 1,405 healthy controls from the Myocardial Genetics Consortium (MIGen), we observe significant associations with histologic NAFLD at variants in or near NCAN, GCKR, LYPLAL1, and PNPLA3, but not PPP1R3B. Variants at these five loci exhibit distinct patterns of association with serum lipids, as well as glycemic and anthropometric traits. We identify common genetic variants influencing CT-assessed steatosis and risk of NAFLD. Hepatic steatosis associated variants are not uniformly associated with NASH/fibrosis or result in abnormalities in serum lipids or glycemic and anthropometric traits, suggesting genetic heterogeneity in the pathways influencing these traits.
Eleftherohorinou H, Andersson-Assarsson JC, Walters RG, et al., 2011, famCNV: copy number variant association for quantitative traits in families, Bioinformatics, Vol: 27, Pages: 1873-1875, ISSN: 1367-4811
A program package to enable genome-wide association of copy number variants (CNVs) with quantitative phenotypes in families of arbitrary size and complexity. Intensity signals that act as proxies for the number of copies are modeled in a variance component framework and association with traits is assessed through formal likelihood testing. AVAILABILITY AND IMPLEMENTATION: The Java package is made available at www.imperial.ac.uk/medicine/people/m.falchi/. CONTACT: m.falchi@imperial.ac.uk.
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