%0 Journal Article %J medRxiv %D 2024 %T Association analysis of mitochondrial DNA heteroplasmic variants: methods and application. %A Sun, Xianbang %A Bulekova, Katia %A Yang, Jian %A Lai, Meng %A Pitsillides, Achilleas N %A Liu, Xue %A Zhang, Yuankai %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Yong, Qian %A Raffield, Laura M %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Rich, Stephen S %A Abecasis, Goncalo %A Carson, April P %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Bis, Joshua C %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Fitzpatrick, Annette L %A Satizabal, Claudia L %A Arking, Dan E %A Ding, Jun %A Levy, Daniel %A Liu, Chunyu %X

We rigorously assessed a comprehensive association testing framework for heteroplasmy, employing both simulated and real-world data. This framework employed a variant allele fraction (VAF) threshold and harnessed multiple gene-based tests for robust identification and association testing of heteroplasmy. Our simulation studies demonstrated that gene-based tests maintained an appropriate type I error rate at α=0.001. Notably, when 5% or more heteroplasmic variants within a target region were linked to an outcome, burden-extension tests (including the adaptive burden test, variable threshold burden test, and z-score weighting burden test) outperformed the sequence kernel association test (SKAT) and the original burden test. Applying this framework, we conducted association analyses on whole-blood derived heteroplasmy in 17,507 individuals of African and European ancestries (31% of African Ancestry, mean age of 62, with 58% women) with whole genome sequencing data. We performed both cohort- and ancestry-specific association analyses, followed by meta-analysis on both pooled samples and within each ancestry group. Our results suggest that mtDNA-encoded genes/regions are likely to exhibit varying rates in somatic aging, with the notably strong associations observed between heteroplasmy in the and genes (<0.001) and advance aging by the Original Burden test. In contrast, SKAT identified significant associations (<0.001) between diabetes and the aggregated effects of heteroplasmy in several protein-coding genes. Further research is warranted to validate these findings. In summary, our proposed statistical framework represents a valuable tool for facilitating association testing of heteroplasmy with disease traits in large human populations.

%B medRxiv %8 2024 Jan 13 %G eng %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38260412?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1101/2024.01.12.24301233 %0 Journal Article %J Nature %D 2023 %T Aberrant activation of TCL1A promotes stem cell expansion in clonal haematopoiesis. %A Weinstock, Joshua S %A Gopakumar, Jayakrishnan %A Burugula, Bala Bharathi %A Uddin, Md Mesbah %A Jahn, Nikolaus %A Belk, Julia A %A Bouzid, Hind %A Daniel, Bence %A Miao, Zhuang %A Ly, Nghi %A Mack, Taralynn M %A Luna, Sofia E %A Prothro, Katherine P %A Mitchell, Shaneice R %A Laurie, Cecelia A %A Broome, Jai G %A Taylor, Kent D %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Sinner, Moritz F %A von Falkenhausen, Aenne S %A Kääb, Stefan %A Shuldiner, Alan R %A O'Connell, Jeffrey R %A Lewis, Joshua P %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Barnes, Kathleen C %A Chami, Nathalie %A Kenny, Eimear E %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Fornage, Myriam %A Hou, Lifang %A Lloyd-Jones, Donald M %A Redline, Susan %A Cade, Brian E %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Bis, Joshua C %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Silverman, Edwin K %A Yun, Jeong H %A Qiao, Dandi %A Palmer, Nicholette D %A Freedman, Barry I %A Bowden, Donald W %A Cho, Michael H %A DeMeo, Dawn L %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Becker, Lewis C %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A Peyser, Patricia A %A He, Jiang %A Rienstra, Michiel %A van der Harst, Pim %A Kaplan, Robert %A Heckbert, Susan R %A Smith, Nicholas L %A Wiggins, Kerri L %A Arnett, Donna K %A Irvin, Marguerite R %A Tiwari, Hemant %A Cutler, Michael J %A Knight, Stacey %A Muhlestein, J Brent %A Correa, Adolfo %A Raffield, Laura M %A Gao, Yan %A de Andrade, Mariza %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Rich, Stephen S %A Tracy, Russell P %A Konkle, Barbara A %A Johnsen, Jill M %A Wheeler, Marsha M %A Smith, J Gustav %A Melander, Olle %A Nilsson, Peter M %A Custer, Brian S %A Duggirala, Ravindranath %A Curran, Joanne E %A Blangero, John %A McGarvey, Stephen %A Williams, L Keoki %A Xiao, Shujie %A Yang, Mao %A Gu, C Charles %A Chen, Yii-Der Ida %A Lee, Wen-Jane %A Marcus, Gregory M %A Kane, John P %A Pullinger, Clive R %A Shoemaker, M Benjamin %A Darbar, Dawood %A Roden, Dan M %A Albert, Christine %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Zhou, Ying %A Manson, JoAnn E %A Desai, Pinkal %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Blackwell, Thomas W %A Abecasis, Gonçalo R %A Smith, Albert V %A Kang, Hyun M %A Satpathy, Ansuman T %A Natarajan, Pradeep %A Kitzman, Jacob O %A Whitsel, Eric A %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Bick, Alexander G %A Jaiswal, Siddhartha %K Alleles %K Animals %K Clonal Hematopoiesis %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Hematopoiesis %K Hematopoietic Stem Cells %K Humans %K Mice %K Mutation %K Promoter Regions, Genetic %X

Mutations in a diverse set of driver genes increase the fitness of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs), leading to clonal haematopoiesis. These lesions are precursors for blood cancers, but the basis of their fitness advantage remains largely unknown, partly owing to a paucity of large cohorts in which the clonal expansion rate has been assessed by longitudinal sampling. Here, to circumvent this limitation, we developed a method to infer the expansion rate from data from a single time point. We applied this method to 5,071 people with clonal haematopoiesis. A genome-wide association study revealed that a common inherited polymorphism in the TCL1A promoter was associated with a slower expansion rate in clonal haematopoiesis overall, but the effect varied by driver gene. Those carrying this protective allele exhibited markedly reduced growth rates or prevalence of clones with driver mutations in TET2, ASXL1, SF3B1 and SRSF2, but this effect was not seen in clones with driver mutations in DNMT3A. TCL1A was not expressed in normal or DNMT3A-mutated HSCs, but the introduction of mutations in TET2 or ASXL1 led to the expression of TCL1A protein and the expansion of HSCs in vitro. The protective allele restricted TCL1A expression and expansion of mutant HSCs, as did experimental knockdown of TCL1A expression. Forced expression of TCL1A promoted the expansion of human HSCs in vitro and mouse HSCs in vivo. Our results indicate that the fitness advantage of several commonly mutated driver genes in clonal haematopoiesis may be mediated by TCL1A activation.

%B Nature %V 616 %P 755-763 %8 2023 Apr %G eng %N 7958 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37046083?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1038/s41586-023-05806-1 %0 Journal Article %J J Am Heart Assoc %D 2023 %T Association Between Whole Blood-Derived Mitochondrial DNA Copy Number, Low-Density Lipoprotein Cholesterol, and Cardiovascular Disease Risk. %A Liu, Xue %A Sun, Xianbang %A Zhang, Yuankai %A Jiang, Wenqing %A Lai, Meng %A Wiggins, Kerri L %A Raffield, Laura M %A Bielak, Lawrence F %A Zhao, Wei %A Pitsillides, Achilleas %A Haessler, Jeffrey %A Zheng, Yinan %A Blackwell, Thomas W %A Yao, Jie %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Qian, Yong %A Thyagarajan, Bharat %A Pankratz, Nathan %A Rich, Stephen S %A Taylor, Kent D %A Peyser, Patricia A %A Heckbert, Susan R %A Seshadri, Sudha %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Grove, Megan L %A Larson, Nicholas B %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Fitzpatrick, Annette L %A Fornage, Myriam %A Ding, Jun %A Carson, April P %A Abecasis, Goncalo %A Dupuis, Josée %A Reiner, Alexander %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Hou, Lifang %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Wilson, James G %A Levy, Daniel %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Bis, Joshua C %A Satizabal, Claudia L %A Arking, Dan E %A Liu, Chunyu %K Cardiovascular Diseases %K Cholesterol, HDL %K Cholesterol, LDL %K Coronary Disease %K Cross-Sectional Studies %K Diabetes Mellitus %K DNA Copy Number Variations %K DNA, Mitochondrial %K Humans %K Hypertension %K Obesity %K Risk Factors %X

Background The relationship between mitochondrial DNA copy number (mtDNA CN) and cardiovascular disease remains elusive. Methods and Results We performed cross-sectional and prospective association analyses of blood-derived mtDNA CN and cardiovascular disease outcomes in 27 316 participants in 8 cohorts of multiple racial and ethnic groups with whole-genome sequencing. We also performed Mendelian randomization to explore causal relationships of mtDNA CN with coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiometabolic risk factors (obesity, diabetes, hypertension, and hyperlipidemia). <0.01 was used for significance. We validated most of the previously reported associations between mtDNA CN and cardiovascular disease outcomes. For example, 1-SD unit lower level of mtDNA CN was associated with 1.08 (95% CI, 1.04-1.12; <0.001) times the hazard for developing incident CHD, adjusting for covariates. Mendelian randomization analyses showed no causal effect from a lower level of mtDNA CN to a higher CHD risk (β=0.091; =0.11) or in the reverse direction (β=-0.012; =0.076). Additional bidirectional Mendelian randomization analyses revealed that low-density lipoprotein cholesterol had a causal effect on mtDNA CN (β=-0.084; <0.001), but the reverse direction was not significant (=0.059). No causal associations were observed between mtDNA CN and obesity, diabetes, and hypertension, in either direction. Multivariable Mendelian randomization analyses showed no causal effect of CHD on mtDNA CN, controlling for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol level (=0.52), whereas there was a strong direct causal effect of higher low-density lipoprotein cholesterol on lower mtDNA CN, adjusting for CHD status (β=-0.092; <0.001). Conclusions Our findings indicate that high low-density lipoprotein cholesterol may underlie the complex relationships between mtDNA CN and vascular atherosclerosis.

%B J Am Heart Assoc %V 12 %P e029090 %8 2023 Oct 17 %G eng %N 20 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37804200?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1161/JAHA.122.029090 %0 Journal Article %J Sci Adv %D 2023 %T The genetic determinants of recurrent somatic mutations in 43,693 blood genomes. %A Weinstock, Joshua S %A Laurie, Cecelia A %A Broome, Jai G %A Taylor, Kent D %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Shuldiner, Alan R %A O'Connell, Jeffrey R %A Lewis, Joshua P %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Barnes, Kathleen C %A Chami, Nathalie %A Kenny, Eimear E %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Fornage, Myriam %A Redline, Susan %A Cade, Brian E %A Gilliland, Frank D %A Chen, Zhanghua %A Gauderman, W James %A Kumar, Rajesh %A Grammer, Leslie %A Schleimer, Robert P %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Bis, Joshua C %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Silverman, Edwin K %A Yun, Jeong H %A Qiao, Dandi %A Weiss, Scott T %A Lasky-Su, Jessica %A DeMeo, Dawn L %A Palmer, Nicholette D %A Freedman, Barry I %A Bowden, Donald W %A Cho, Michael H %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Becker, Lewis C %A Kardia, Sharon %A He, Jiang %A Kaplan, Robert %A Heckbert, Susan R %A Smith, Nicholas L %A Wiggins, Kerri L %A Arnett, Donna K %A Irvin, Marguerite R %A Tiwari, Hemant %A Correa, Adolfo %A Raffield, Laura M %A Gao, Yan %A de Andrade, Mariza %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Rich, Stephen S %A Manichaikul, Ani W %A Konkle, Barbara A %A Johnsen, Jill M %A Wheeler, Marsha M %A Custer, Brian S %A Duggirala, Ravindranath %A Curran, Joanne E %A Blangero, John %A Gui, Hongsheng %A Xiao, Shujie %A Williams, L Keoki %A Meyers, Deborah A %A Li, Xingnan %A Ortega, Victor %A McGarvey, Stephen %A Gu, C Charles %A Chen, Yii-Der Ida %A Lee, Wen-Jane %A Shoemaker, M Benjamin %A Darbar, Dawood %A Roden, Dan %A Albert, Christine %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Desai, Pinkal %A Blackwell, Thomas W %A Abecasis, Gonçalo R %A Smith, Albert V %A Kang, Hyun M %A Mathias, Rasika %A Natarajan, Pradeep %A Jaiswal, Siddhartha %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Bick, Alexander G %K Germ-Line Mutation %K Hematopoiesis %K Humans %K Middle Aged %K Mutation %K Mutation, Missense %K Phenotype %X

Nononcogenic somatic mutations are thought to be uncommon and inconsequential. To test this, we analyzed 43,693 National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine blood whole genomes from 37 cohorts and identified 7131 non-missense somatic mutations that are recurrently mutated in at least 50 individuals. These recurrent non-missense somatic mutations (RNMSMs) are not clearly explained by other clonal phenomena such as clonal hematopoiesis. RNMSM prevalence increased with age, with an average 50-year-old having 27 RNMSMs. Inherited germline variation associated with RNMSM acquisition. These variants were found in genes involved in adaptive immune function, proinflammatory cytokine production, and lymphoid lineage commitment. In addition, the presence of eight specific RNMSMs associated with blood cell traits at effect sizes comparable to Mendelian genetic mutations. Overall, we found that somatic mutations in blood are an unexpectedly common phenomenon with ancestry-specific determinants and human health consequences.

%B Sci Adv %V 9 %P eabm4945 %8 2023 Apr 28 %G eng %N 17 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37126548?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1126/sciadv.abm4945 %0 Journal Article %J Diabetes %D 2023 %T Investigating Gene-Diet Interactions Impacting the Association Between Macronutrient Intake and Glycemic Traits. %A Westerman, Kenneth E %A Walker, Maura E %A Gaynor, Sheila M %A Wessel, Jennifer %A DiCorpo, Daniel %A Ma, Jiantao %A Alonso, Alvaro %A Aslibekyan, Stella %A Baldridge, Abigail S %A Bertoni, Alain G %A Biggs, Mary L %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Chen, Yii-Der Ida %A Dupuis, Josée %A Goodarzi, Mark O %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Hasbani, Natalie R %A Heath, Adam %A Hidalgo, Bertha %A Irvin, Marguerite R %A Johnson, W Craig %A Kalyani, Rita R %A Lange, Leslie %A Lemaitre, Rozenn N %A Liu, Ching-Ti %A Liu, Simin %A Moon, Jee-Young %A Nassir, Rami %A Pankow, James S %A Pettinger, Mary %A Raffield, Laura M %A Rasmussen-Torvik, Laura J %A Selvin, Elizabeth %A Senn, Mackenzie K %A Shadyab, Aladdin H %A Smith, Albert V %A Smith, Nicholas L %A Steffen, Lyn %A Talegakwar, Sameera %A Taylor, Kent D %A de Vries, Paul S %A Wilson, James G %A Wood, Alexis C %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Yao, Jie %A Zheng, Yinan %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Fornage, Miriam %A Russell, Tracy P %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Levy, Daniel %A Heard-Costa, Nancy L %A Ramachandran, Vasan S %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Arnett, Donna K %A Kaplan, Robert %A North, Kari E %A Correa, Adolfo %A Carson, April %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Rich, Stephen S %A Manson, JoAnn E %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Florez, Jose C %A Meigs, James B %A Merino, Jordi %A Tobias, Deirdre K %A Chen, Han %A Manning, Alisa K %K Diabetes Mellitus %K Diet %K Eating %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Glycated Hemoglobin %K Guanine Nucleotide Dissociation Inhibitors %K Humans %X

UNLABELLED: Few studies have demonstrated reproducible gene-diet interactions (GDIs) impacting metabolic disease risk factors, likely due in part to measurement error in dietary intake estimation and insufficient capture of rare genetic variation. We aimed to identify GDIs across the genetic frequency spectrum impacting the macronutrient-glycemia relationship in genetically and culturally diverse cohorts. We analyzed 33,187 participants free of diabetes from 10 National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine program cohorts with whole-genome sequencing, self-reported diet, and glycemic trait data. We fit cohort-specific, multivariable-adjusted linear mixed models for the effect of diet, modeled as an isocaloric substitution of carbohydrate for fat, and its interactions with common and rare variants genome-wide. In main effect meta-analyses, participants consuming more carbohydrate had modestly lower glycemic trait values (e.g., for glycated hemoglobin [HbA1c], -0.013% HbA1c/250 kcal substitution). In GDI meta-analyses, a common African ancestry-enriched variant (rs79762542) reached study-wide significance and replicated in the UK Biobank cohort, indicating a negative carbohydrate-HbA1c association among major allele homozygotes only. Simulations revealed that >150,000 samples may be necessary to identify similar macronutrient GDIs under realistic assumptions about effect size and measurement error. These results generate hypotheses for further exploration of modifiable metabolic disease risk in additional cohorts with African ancestry.

ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS: We aimed to identify genetic modifiers of the dietary macronutrient-glycemia relationship using whole-genome sequence data from 10 Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine program cohorts. Substitution models indicated a modest reduction in glycemia associated with an increase in dietary carbohydrate at the expense of fat. Genome-wide interaction analysis identified one African ancestry-enriched variant near the FRAS1 gene that may interact with macronutrient intake to influence hemoglobin A1c. Simulation-based power calculations accounting for measurement error suggested that substantially larger sample sizes may be necessary to discover further gene-macronutrient interactions.

%B Diabetes %V 72 %P 653-665 %8 2023 May 01 %G eng %N 5 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36791419?dopt=Abstract %R 10.2337/db22-0851 %0 Journal Article %J Nat Genet %D 2023 %T Powerful, scalable and resource-efficient meta-analysis of rare variant associations in large whole genome sequencing studies. %A Li, Xihao %A Quick, Corbin %A Zhou, Hufeng %A Gaynor, Sheila M %A Liu, Yaowu %A Chen, Han %A Selvaraj, Margaret Sunitha %A Sun, Ryan %A Dey, Rounak %A Arnett, Donna K %A Bielak, Lawrence F %A Bis, Joshua C %A Blangero, John %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Bowden, Donald W %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Cade, Brian E %A Correa, Adolfo %A Cupples, L Adrienne %A Curran, Joanne E %A de Vries, Paul S %A Duggirala, Ravindranath %A Freedman, Barry I %A Göring, Harald H H %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Haessler, Jeffrey %A Kalyani, Rita R %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Kral, Brian G %A Lange, Leslie A %A Manichaikul, Ani %A Martin, Lisa W %A McGarvey, Stephen T %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Montasser, May E %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Naseri, Take %A O'Connell, Jeffrey R %A Palmer, Nicholette D %A Peyser, Patricia A %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Raffield, Laura M %A Redline, Susan %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Reupena, Muagututi'a Sefuiva %A Rice, Kenneth M %A Rich, Stephen S %A Sitlani, Colleen M %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Taylor, Kent D %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Willer, Cristen J %A Wilson, James G %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Zhao, Wei %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Natarajan, Pradeep %A Peloso, Gina M %A Li, Zilin %A Lin, Xihong %K Exome Sequencing %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Lipids %K Phenotype %K Whole Genome Sequencing %X

Meta-analysis of whole genome sequencing/whole exome sequencing (WGS/WES) studies provides an attractive solution to the problem of collecting large sample sizes for discovering rare variants associated with complex phenotypes. Existing rare variant meta-analysis approaches are not scalable to biobank-scale WGS data. Here we present MetaSTAAR, a powerful and resource-efficient rare variant meta-analysis framework for large-scale WGS/WES studies. MetaSTAAR accounts for relatedness and population structure, can analyze both quantitative and dichotomous traits and boosts the power of rare variant tests by incorporating multiple variant functional annotations. Through meta-analysis of four lipid traits in 30,138 ancestrally diverse samples from 14 studies of the Trans Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Program, we show that MetaSTAAR performs rare variant meta-analysis at scale and produces results comparable to using pooled data. Additionally, we identified several conditionally significant rare variant associations with lipid traits. We further demonstrate that MetaSTAAR is scalable to biobank-scale cohorts through meta-analysis of TOPMed WGS data and UK Biobank WES data of ~200,000 samples.

%B Nat Genet %V 55 %P 154-164 %8 2023 Jan %G eng %N 1 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36564505?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1038/s41588-022-01225-6 %0 Journal Article %J medRxiv %D 2023 %T Rare variants in long non-coding RNAs are associated with blood lipid levels in the TOPMed Whole Genome Sequencing Study. %A Wang, Yuxuan %A Selvaraj, Margaret Sunitha %A Li, Xihao %A Li, Zilin %A Holdcraft, Jacob A %A Arnett, Donna K %A Bis, Joshua C %A Blangero, John %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Bowden, Donald W %A Cade, Brian E %A Carlson, Jenna C %A Carson, April P %A Chen, Yii-Der Ida %A Curran, Joanne E %A de Vries, Paul S %A Dutcher, Susan K %A Ellinor, Patrick T %A Floyd, James S %A Fornage, Myriam %A Freedman, Barry I %A Gabriel, Stacey %A Germer, Soren %A Richard A Gibbs %A Guo, Xiuqing %A He, Jiang %A Heard-Costa, Nancy %A Hildalgo, Bertha %A Hou, Lifang %A Irvin, Marguerite R %A Joehanes, Roby %A Kaplan, Robert C %A Kardia, Sharon Lr %A Kelly, Tanika N %A Kim, Ryan %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Kral, Brian G %A Levy, Daniel %A Li, Changwei %A Liu, Chunyu %A Lloyd-Jone, Don %A Loos, Ruth Jf %A Mahaney, Michael C %A Martin, Lisa W %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Minster, Ryan L %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Montasser, May E %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Murabito, Joanne M %A Naseri, Take %A O'Connell, Jeffrey R %A Palmer, Nicholette D %A Preuss, Michael H %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Raffield, Laura M %A Rao, Dabeeru C %A Redline, Susan %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Rich, Stephen S %A Ruepena, Muagututi'a Sefuiva %A Sheu, Wayne H-H %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Smith, Albert %A Tiwari, Hemant K %A Tsai, Michael Y %A Viaud-Martinez, Karine A %A Wang, Zhe %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Zhao, Wei %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Lin, Xihong %A Natarajan, Pradeep %A Peloso, Gina M %X

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are known to perform important regulatory functions. Large-scale whole genome sequencing (WGS) studies and new statistical methods for variant set tests now provide an opportunity to assess the associations between rare variants in lncRNA genes and complex traits across the genome. In this study, we used high-coverage WGS from 66,329 participants of diverse ancestries with blood lipid levels (LDL-C, HDL-C, TC, and TG) in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program to investigate the role of lncRNAs in lipid variability. We aggregated rare variants for 165,375 lncRNA genes based on their genomic locations and conducted rare variant aggregate association tests using the STAAR (variant-Set Test for Association using Annotation infoRmation) framework. We performed STAAR conditional analysis adjusting for common variants in known lipid GWAS loci and rare coding variants in nearby protein coding genes. Our analyses revealed 83 rare lncRNA variant sets significantly associated with blood lipid levels, all of which were located in known lipid GWAS loci (in a ±500 kb window of a Global Lipids Genetics Consortium index variant). Notably, 61 out of 83 signals (73%) were conditionally independent of common regulatory variations and rare protein coding variations at the same loci. We replicated 34 out of 61 (56%) conditionally independent associations using the independent UK Biobank WGS data. Our results expand the genetic architecture of blood lipids to rare variants in lncRNA, implicating new therapeutic opportunities.

%B medRxiv %8 2023 Jun 29 %G eng %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37425772?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1101/2023.06.28.23291966 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Hum Genet %D 2023 %T Rare variants in long non-coding RNAs are associated with blood lipid levels in the TOPMed whole-genome sequencing study. %A Wang, Yuxuan %A Selvaraj, Margaret Sunitha %A Li, Xihao %A Li, Zilin %A Holdcraft, Jacob A %A Arnett, Donna K %A Bis, Joshua C %A Blangero, John %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Bowden, Donald W %A Cade, Brian E %A Carlson, Jenna C %A Carson, April P %A Chen, Yii-Der Ida %A Curran, Joanne E %A de Vries, Paul S %A Dutcher, Susan K %A Ellinor, Patrick T %A Floyd, James S %A Fornage, Myriam %A Freedman, Barry I %A Gabriel, Stacey %A Germer, Soren %A Richard A Gibbs %A Guo, Xiuqing %A He, Jiang %A Heard-Costa, Nancy %A Hildalgo, Bertha %A Hou, Lifang %A Irvin, Marguerite R %A Joehanes, Roby %A Kaplan, Robert C %A Kardia, Sharon Lr %A Kelly, Tanika N %A Kim, Ryan %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Kral, Brian G %A Levy, Daniel %A Li, Changwei %A Liu, Chunyu %A Lloyd-Jone, Don %A Loos, Ruth Jf %A Mahaney, Michael C %A Martin, Lisa W %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Minster, Ryan L %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Montasser, May E %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Murabito, Joanne M %A Naseri, Take %A O'Connell, Jeffrey R %A Palmer, Nicholette D %A Preuss, Michael H %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Raffield, Laura M %A Rao, Dabeeru C %A Redline, Susan %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Rich, Stephen S %A Ruepena, Muagututi'a Sefuiva %A Sheu, Wayne H-H %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Smith, Albert %A Tiwari, Hemant K %A Tsai, Michael Y %A Viaud-Martinez, Karine A %A Wang, Zhe %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Zhao, Wei %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Lin, Xihong %A Natarajan, Pradeep %A Peloso, Gina M %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Humans %K Lipids %K Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide %K Precision Medicine %K RNA, Long Noncoding %K Whole Genome Sequencing %X

Long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) are known to perform important regulatory functions in lipid metabolism. Large-scale whole-genome sequencing (WGS) studies and new statistical methods for variant set tests now provide an opportunity to assess more associations between rare variants in lncRNA genes and complex traits across the genome. In this study, we used high-coverage WGS from 66,329 participants of diverse ancestries with measurement of blood lipids and lipoproteins (LDL-C, HDL-C, TC, and TG) in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program to investigate the role of lncRNAs in lipid variability. We aggregated rare variants for 165,375 lncRNA genes based on their genomic locations and conducted rare-variant aggregate association tests using the STAAR (variant-set test for association using annotation information) framework. We performed STAAR conditional analysis adjusting for common variants in known lipid GWAS loci and rare-coding variants in nearby protein-coding genes. Our analyses revealed 83 rare lncRNA variant sets significantly associated with blood lipid levels, all of which were located in known lipid GWAS loci (in a ±500-kb window of a Global Lipids Genetics Consortium index variant). Notably, 61 out of 83 signals (73%) were conditionally independent of common regulatory variation and rare protein-coding variation at the same loci. We replicated 34 out of 61 (56%) conditionally independent associations using the independent UK Biobank WGS data. Our results expand the genetic architecture of blood lipids to rare variants in lncRNAs.

%B Am J Hum Genet %V 110 %P 1704-1717 %8 2023 Oct 05 %G eng %N 10 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37802043?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.ajhg.2023.09.003 %0 Journal Article %J bioRxiv %D 2023 %T A statistical framework for powerful multi-trait rare variant analysis in large-scale whole-genome sequencing studies. %A Li, Xihao %A Chen, Han %A Selvaraj, Margaret Sunitha %A Van Buren, Eric %A Zhou, Hufeng %A Wang, Yuxuan %A Sun, Ryan %A McCaw, Zachary R %A Yu, Zhi %A Arnett, Donna K %A Bis, Joshua C %A Blangero, John %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Bowden, Donald W %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Cade, Brian E %A Carson, April P %A Carlson, Jenna C %A Chami, Nathalie %A Chen, Yii-Der Ida %A Curran, Joanne E %A de Vries, Paul S %A Fornage, Myriam %A Franceschini, Nora %A Freedman, Barry I %A Gu, Charles %A Heard-Costa, Nancy L %A He, Jiang %A Hou, Lifang %A Hung, Yi-Jen %A Irvin, Marguerite R %A Kaplan, Robert C %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A Kelly, Tanika %A Konigsberg, Iain %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Kral, Brian G %A Li, Changwei %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Mahaney, Michael C %A Martin, Lisa W %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Minster, Ryan L %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Montasser, May E %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Palmer, Nicholette D %A Peyser, Patricia A %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Raffield, Laura M %A Redline, Susan %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Rich, Stephen S %A Sitlani, Colleen M %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Taylor, Kent D %A Tiwari, Hemant %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Wang, Zhe %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Yu, Bing %A Rice, Kenneth M %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Peloso, Gina M %A Natarajan, Pradeep %A Li, Zilin %A Liu, Zhonghua %A Lin, Xihong %X

Large-scale whole-genome sequencing (WGS) studies have improved our understanding of the contributions of coding and noncoding rare variants to complex human traits. Leveraging association effect sizes across multiple traits in WGS rare variant association analysis can improve statistical power over single-trait analysis, and also detect pleiotropic genes and regions. Existing multi-trait methods have limited ability to perform rare variant analysis of large-scale WGS data. We propose MultiSTAAR, a statistical framework and computationally-scalable analytical pipeline for functionally-informed multi-trait rare variant analysis in large-scale WGS studies. MultiSTAAR accounts for relatedness, population structure and correlation among phenotypes by jointly analyzing multiple traits, and further empowers rare variant association analysis by incorporating multiple functional annotations. We applied MultiSTAAR to jointly analyze three lipid traits (low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and triglycerides) in 61,861 multi-ethnic samples from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Program. We discovered new associations with lipid traits missed by single-trait analysis, including rare variants within an enhancer of and an intergenic region on chromosome 1.

%B bioRxiv %8 2023 Nov 02 %G eng %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37961350?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1101/2023.10.30.564764 %0 Journal Article %J Circ Genom Precis Med %D 2023 %T Type 2 Diabetes Modifies the Association of CAD Genomic Risk Variants With Subclinical Atherosclerosis. %A Hasbani, Natalie R %A Westerman, Kenneth E %A Kwak, Soo Heon %A Chen, Han %A Li, Xihao %A Di Corpo, Daniel %A Wessel, Jennifer %A Bis, Joshua C %A Sarnowski, Chloe %A Wu, Peitao %A Bielak, Lawrence F %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Heard-Costa, Nancy %A Kinney, Gregory L %A Mahaney, Michael C %A Montasser, May E %A Palmer, Nicholette D %A Raffield, Laura M %A Terry, James G %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Bon, Jessica %A Bowden, Donald W %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Duggirala, Ravindranath %A Jacobs, David R %A Kalyani, Rita R %A Lange, Leslie A %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Taylor, Kent D %A Carson, April P %A Curran, Joanne E %A Fornage, Myriam %A Freedman, Barry I %A Gabriel, Stacey %A Richard A Gibbs %A Gupta, Namrata %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A Kral, Brian G %A Momin, Zeineen %A Newman, Anne B %A Post, Wendy S %A Viaud-Martinez, Karine A %A Young, Kendra A %A Becker, Lewis C %A Bertoni, Alain G %A Blangero, John %A Carr, John J %A Pratte, Katherine %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Rich, Stephen S %A Wu, Joseph C %A Malhotra, Rajeev %A Peyser, Patricia A %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Lin, Xihong %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Meigs, James B %A Manning, Alisa K %A de Vries, Paul S %K Atherosclerosis %K Carotid Intima-Media Thickness %K Coronary Artery Disease %K Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 %K Genomics %K Humans %K Plaque, Atherosclerotic %K Risk Factors %X

BACKGROUND: Individuals with type 2 diabetes (T2D) have an increased risk of coronary artery disease (CAD), but questions remain about the underlying pathology. Identifying which CAD loci are modified by T2D in the development of subclinical atherosclerosis (coronary artery calcification [CAC], carotid intima-media thickness, or carotid plaque) may improve our understanding of the mechanisms leading to the increased CAD in T2D.

METHODS: We compared the common and rare variant associations of known CAD loci from the literature on CAC, carotid intima-media thickness, and carotid plaque in up to 29 670 participants, including up to 24 157 normoglycemic controls and 5513 T2D cases leveraging whole-genome sequencing data from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine program. We included first-order T2D interaction terms in each model to determine whether CAD loci were modified by T2D. The genetic main and interaction effects were assessed using a joint test to determine whether a CAD variant, or gene-based rare variant set, was associated with the respective subclinical atherosclerosis measures and then further determined whether these loci had a significant interaction test.

RESULTS: Using a Bonferroni-corrected significance threshold of <1.6×10, we identified 3 genes (, , and ) associated with CAC and 2 genes ( and ) associated with carotid intima-media thickness and carotid plaque, respectively, through gene-based rare variant set analysis. Both and also had significantly different associations for CAC in T2D cases versus controls. No significant interaction tests were identified through the candidate single-variant analysis.

CONCLUSIONS: These results highlight T2D as an important modifier of rare variant associations in CAD loci with CAC.

%B Circ Genom Precis Med %V 16 %P e004176 %8 2023 Dec %G eng %N 6 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/38014529?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1161/CIRCGEN.123.004176 %0 Journal Article %J bioRxiv %D 2023 %T Whole Genome Sequencing Based Analysis of Inflammation Biomarkers in the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium. %A Jiang, Min-Zhi %A Gaynor, Sheila M %A Li, Xihao %A Van Buren, Eric %A Stilp, Adrienne %A Buth, Erin %A Wang, Fei Fei %A Manansala, Regina %A Gogarten, Stephanie M %A Li, Zilin %A Polfus, Linda M %A Salimi, Shabnam %A Bis, Joshua C %A Pankratz, Nathan %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Durda, Peter %A Tracy, Russell P %A Rich, Stephen S %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Lewis, Joshua P %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Pratte, Katherine A %A Silverman, Edwin K %A Kaplan, Robert C %A Avery, Christy %A North, Kari %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Faraday, Nauder %A Lin, Honghuang %A Wang, Biqi %A Carson, April P %A Norwood, Arnita F %A Richard A Gibbs %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Lundin, Jessica %A Peters, Ulrike %A Dupuis, Josée %A Hou, Lifang %A Fornage, Myriam %A Benjamin, Emelia J %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Bowler, Russell P %A Lin, Xihong %A Auer, Paul L %A Raffield, Laura M %X

Inflammation biomarkers can provide valuable insight into the role of inflammatory processes in many diseases and conditions. Sequencing based analyses of such biomarkers can also serve as an exemplar of the genetic architecture of quantitative traits. To evaluate the biological insight, which can be provided by a multi-ancestry, whole-genome based association study, we performed a comprehensive analysis of 21 inflammation biomarkers from up to 38,465 individuals with whole-genome sequencing from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program. We identified 22 distinct single-variant associations across 6 traits - E-selectin, intercellular adhesion molecule 1, interleukin-6, lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 activity and mass, and P-selectin - that remained significant after conditioning on previously identified associations for these inflammatory biomarkers. We further expanded upon known biomarker associations by pairing the single-variant analysis with a rare variant set-based analysis that further identified 19 significant rare variant set-based associations with 5 traits. These signals were distinct from both significant single variant association signals within TOPMed and genetic signals observed in prior studies, demonstrating the complementary value of performing both single and rare variant analyses when analyzing quantitative traits. We also confirm several previously reported signals from semi-quantitative proteomics platforms. Many of these signals demonstrate the extensive allelic heterogeneity and ancestry-differentiated variant-trait associations common for inflammation biomarkers, a characteristic we hypothesize will be increasingly observed with well-powered, large-scale analyses of complex traits.

%B bioRxiv %8 2023 Sep 12 %G eng %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37745480?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1101/2023.09.10.555215 %0 Journal Article %J Hum Mol Genet %D 2023 %T Whole-exome sequencing study identifies four novel gene loci associated with diabetic kidney disease. %A Pan, Yang %A Sun, Xiao %A Mi, Xuenan %A Huang, Zhijie %A Hsu, Yenchih %A Hixson, James E %A Munzy, Donna %A Ginger A Metcalf %A Franceschini, Nora %A Tin, Adrienne %A Köttgen, Anna %A Francis, Michael %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Kestenbaum, Bryan %A Sitlani, Colleen M %A Mychaleckyj, Josyf C %A Kramer, Holly %A Lange, Leslie A %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Hwang, Shih-Jen %A Irvin, Marguerite R %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Vaidya, Dhananjay %A Chen, Yii-Der Ida %A Fornage, Myriam %A Lloyd-Jones, Donald M %A Hou, Lifang %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Peyser, Patricia A %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A Arnett, Donna K %A Correa, Adolfo %A Raffield, Laura M %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Cupple, L Adrienne %A Levy, Daniel %A Kaplan, Robert C %A North, Kari E %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Tracy, Russell P %A Richard A Gibbs %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Feldman, Harold %A Eric Boerwinkle %A He, Jiang %A Kelly, Tanika N %K Aminopeptidases %K Diabetes Mellitus %K Diabetic Nephropathies %K Exome Sequencing %K Humans %K Kidney %K Renal Insufficiency, Chronic %X

Diabetic kidney disease (DKD) is recognized as an important public health challenge. However, its genomic mechanisms are poorly understood. To identify rare variants for DKD, we conducted a whole-exome sequencing (WES) study leveraging large cohorts well-phenotyped for chronic kidney disease and diabetes. Our two-stage WES study included 4372 European and African ancestry participants from the Chronic Renal Insufficiency Cohort and Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities studies (stage 1) and 11 487 multi-ancestry Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine participants (stage 2). Generalized linear mixed models, which accounted for genetic relatedness and adjusted for age, sex and ancestry, were used to test associations between single variants and DKD. Gene-based aggregate rare variant analyses were conducted using an optimized sequence kernel association test implemented within our mixed model framework. We identified four novel exome-wide significant DKD-related loci through initiating diabetes. In single-variant analyses, participants carrying a rare, in-frame insertion in the DIS3L2 gene (rs141560952) exhibited a 193-fold increased odds [95% confidence interval (CI): 33.6, 1105] of DKD compared with noncarriers (P = 3.59 × 10-9). Likewise, each copy of a low-frequency KRT6B splice-site variant (rs425827) conferred a 5.31-fold higher odds (95% CI: 3.06, 9.21) of DKD (P = 2.72 × 10-9). Aggregate gene-based analyses further identified ERAP2 (P = 4.03 × 10-8) and NPEPPS (P = 1.51 × 10-7), which are both expressed in the kidney and implicated in renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system modulated immune response. In the largest WES study of DKD, we identified novel rare variant loci attaining exome-wide significance. These findings provide new insights into the molecular mechanisms underlying DKD.

%B Hum Mol Genet %V 32 %P 1048-1060 %8 2023 Mar 06 %G eng %N 6 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36444934?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1093/hmg/ddac290 %0 Journal Article %J Nat Methods %D 2022 %T A framework for detecting noncoding rare-variant associations of large-scale whole-genome sequencing studies. %A Li, Zilin %A Li, Xihao %A Zhou, Hufeng %A Gaynor, Sheila M %A Selvaraj, Margaret Sunitha %A Arapoglou, Theodore %A Quick, Corbin %A Liu, Yaowu %A Chen, Han %A Sun, Ryan %A Dey, Rounak %A Arnett, Donna K %A Auer, Paul L %A Bielak, Lawrence F %A Bis, Joshua C %A Blackwell, Thomas W %A Blangero, John %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Bowden, Donald W %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Cade, Brian E %A Conomos, Matthew P %A Correa, Adolfo %A Cupples, L Adrienne %A Curran, Joanne E %A de Vries, Paul S %A Duggirala, Ravindranath %A Franceschini, Nora %A Freedman, Barry I %A Göring, Harald H H %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Kalyani, Rita R %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Kral, Brian G %A Lange, Leslie A %A Lin, Bridget M %A Manichaikul, Ani %A Manning, Alisa K %A Martin, Lisa W %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Meigs, James B %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Montasser, May E %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Naseri, Take %A O'Connell, Jeffrey R %A Palmer, Nicholette D %A Peyser, Patricia A %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Raffield, Laura M %A Redline, Susan %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Reupena, Muagututi'a Sefuiva %A Rice, Kenneth M %A Rich, Stephen S %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Taylor, Kent D %A Taub, Margaret A %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Weeks, Daniel E %A Wilson, James G %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Zhao, Wei %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Willer, Cristen J %A Natarajan, Pradeep %A Peloso, Gina M %A Lin, Xihong %K Genetic Variation %K Genome %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Humans %K Phenotype %K Whole Genome Sequencing %X

Large-scale whole-genome sequencing studies have enabled analysis of noncoding rare-variant (RV) associations with complex human diseases and traits. Variant-set analysis is a powerful approach to study RV association. However, existing methods have limited ability in analyzing the noncoding genome. We propose a computationally efficient and robust noncoding RV association detection framework, STAARpipeline, to automatically annotate a whole-genome sequencing study and perform flexible noncoding RV association analysis, including gene-centric analysis and fixed window-based and dynamic window-based non-gene-centric analysis by incorporating variant functional annotations. In gene-centric analysis, STAARpipeline uses STAAR to group noncoding variants based on functional categories of genes and incorporate multiple functional annotations. In non-gene-centric analysis, STAARpipeline uses SCANG-STAAR to incorporate dynamic window sizes and multiple functional annotations. We apply STAARpipeline to identify noncoding RV sets associated with four lipid traits in 21,015 discovery samples from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program and replicate several of them in an additional 9,123 TOPMed samples. We also analyze five non-lipid TOPMed traits.

%B Nat Methods %V 19 %P 1599-1611 %8 2022 Dec %G eng %N 12 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36303018?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1038/s41592-022-01640-x %0 Journal Article %J BMC Genomics %D 2022 %T Rare coding variants in RCN3 are associated with blood pressure. %A He, Karen Y %A Kelly, Tanika N %A Wang, Heming %A Liang, Jingjing %A Zhu, Luke %A Cade, Brian E %A Assimes, Themistocles L %A Becker, Lewis C %A Beitelshees, Amber L %A Bielak, Lawrence F %A Bress, Adam P %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Chang, Yen-Pei Christy %A Chang, Yi-Cheng %A de Vries, Paul S %A Duggirala, Ravindranath %A Fox, Ervin R %A Franceschini, Nora %A Furniss, Anna L %A Gao, Yan %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Haessler, Jeffrey %A Hung, Yi-Jen %A Hwang, Shih-Jen %A Irvin, Marguerite Ryan %A Kalyani, Rita R %A Liu, Ching-Ti %A Liu, Chunyu %A Martin, Lisa Warsinger %A Montasser, May E %A Muntner, Paul M %A Mwasongwe, Stanford %A Naseri, Take %A Palmas, Walter %A Reupena, Muagututi'a Sefuiva %A Rice, Kenneth M %A Sheu, Wayne H-H %A Shimbo, Daichi %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Snively, Beverly M %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Zhao, Wei %A Blangero, John %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Chen, Yii-Der Ida %A Correa, Adolfo %A Cupples, L Adrienne %A Curran, Joanne E %A Fornage, Myriam %A He, Jiang %A Hou, Lifang %A Kaplan, Robert C %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A Kenny, Eimear E %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Lloyd-Jones, Donald %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Mathias, Rasika A %A McGarvey, Stephen T %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A North, Kari E %A Peyser, Patricia A %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Raffield, Laura M %A Rao, D C %A Redline, Susan %A Reiner, Alex P %A Rich, Stephen S %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Taylor, Kent D %A Tracy, Russell %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Levy, Daniel %A Chakravarti, Aravinda %A Arnett, Donna K %A Zhu, Xiaofeng %K Blood Pressure %K Genetic Linkage %K Genetic Predisposition to Disease %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Humans %K Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide %K Precision Medicine %K Whole Genome Sequencing %X

BACKGROUND: While large genome-wide association studies have identified nearly one thousand loci associated with variation in blood pressure, rare variant identification is still a challenge. In family-based cohorts, genome-wide linkage scans have been successful in identifying rare genetic variants for blood pressure. This study aims to identify low frequency and rare genetic variants within previously reported linkage regions on chromosomes 1 and 19 in African American families from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program. Genetic association analyses weighted by linkage evidence were completed with whole genome sequencing data within and across TOPMed ancestral groups consisting of 60,388 individuals of European, African, East Asian, Hispanic, and Samoan ancestries.

RESULTS: Associations of low frequency and rare variants in RCN3 and multiple other genes were observed for blood pressure traits in TOPMed samples. The association of low frequency and rare coding variants in RCN3 was further replicated in UK Biobank samples (N = 403,522), and reached genome-wide significance for diastolic blood pressure (p = 2.01 × 10).

CONCLUSIONS: Low frequency and rare variants in RCN3 contributes blood pressure variation. This study demonstrates that focusing association analyses in linkage regions greatly reduces multiple-testing burden and improves power to identify novel rare variants associated with blood pressure traits.

%B BMC Genomics %V 23 %P 148 %8 2022 Feb 19 %G eng %N 1 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35183128?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1186/s12864-022-08356-4 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Hum Genet %D 2022 %T TOP-LD: A tool to explore linkage disequilibrium with TOPMed whole-genome sequence data. %A Huang, Le %A Rosen, Jonathan D %A Sun, Quan %A Chen, Jiawen %A Wheeler, Marsha M %A Zhou, Ying %A Min, Yuan-I %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Conomos, Matthew P %A Stilp, Adrienne M %A Rich, Stephen S %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Manichaikul, Ani %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Kenny, Eimear E %A Blackwell, Thomas W %A Smith, Albert V %A Jun, Goo %A Fritz J Sedlazeck %A Ginger A Metcalf %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Raffield, Laura M %A Reiner, Alex P %A Auer, Paul L %A Li, Yun %K Asian People %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Humans %K Linkage Disequilibrium %K Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide %K Precision Medicine %K Whole Genome Sequencing %X

Current publicly available tools that allow rapid exploration of linkage disequilibrium (LD) between markers (e.g., HaploReg and LDlink) are based on whole-genome sequence (WGS) data from 2,504 individuals in the 1000 Genomes Project. Here, we present TOP-LD, an online tool to explore LD inferred with high-coverage (∼30×) WGS data from 15,578 individuals in the NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program. TOP-LD provides a significant upgrade compared to current LD tools, as the TOPMed WGS data provide a more comprehensive representation of genetic variation than the 1000 Genomes data, particularly for rare variants and in the specific populations that we analyzed. For example, TOP-LD encompasses LD information for 150.3, 62.2, and 36.7 million variants for European, African, and East Asian ancestral samples, respectively, offering 2.6- to 9.1-fold increase in variant coverage compared to HaploReg 4.0 or LDlink. In addition, TOP-LD includes tens of thousands of structural variants (SVs). We demonstrate the value of TOP-LD in fine-mapping at the GGT1 locus associated with gamma glutamyltransferase in the African ancestry participants in UK Biobank. Beyond fine-mapping, TOP-LD can facilitate a wide range of applications that are based on summary statistics and estimates of LD. TOP-LD is freely available online.

%B Am J Hum Genet %V 109 %P 1175-1181 %8 2022 Jun 02 %G eng %N 6 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35504290?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.ajhg.2022.04.006 %0 Journal Article %J Nat Commun %D 2022 %T Whole genome sequencing identifies structural variants contributing to hematologic traits in the NHLBI TOPMed program. %A Wheeler, Marsha M %A Stilp, Adrienne M %A Rao, Shuquan %A Halldórsson, Bjarni V %A Beyter, Doruk %A Wen, Jia %A Mihkaylova, Anna V %A McHugh, Caitlin P %A Lane, John %A Jiang, Min-Zhi %A Raffield, Laura M %A Jun, Goo %A Fritz J Sedlazeck %A Ginger A Metcalf %A Yao, Yao %A Bis, Joshua B %A Chami, Nathalie %A de Vries, Paul S %A Desai, Pinkal %A Floyd, James S %A Gao, Yan %A Kammers, Kai %A Kim, Wonji %A Moon, Jee-Young %A Ratan, Aakrosh %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Almasy, Laura %A Becker, Lewis C %A Blangero, John %A Cho, Michael H %A Curran, Joanne E %A Fornage, Myriam %A Kaplan, Robert C %A Lewis, Joshua P %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Preuss, Michael %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Rich, Stephen S %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Tang, Hua %A Tracy, Russell P %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Abecasis, Gonçalo R %A Blackwell, Thomas W %A Smith, Albert V %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Nickerson, Deborah A %A Conomos, Matthew P %A Li, Yun %A Þorsteinsdóttir, Unnur %A Magnússon, Magnús K %A Stefansson, Kari %A Pankratz, Nathan D %A Bauer, Daniel E %A Auer, Paul L %A Reiner, Alex P %K Blood Cells %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Humans %K Whole Genome Sequencing %X

Genome-wide association studies have identified thousands of single nucleotide variants and small indels that contribute to variation in hematologic traits. While structural variants are known to cause rare blood or hematopoietic disorders, the genome-wide contribution of structural variants to quantitative blood cell trait variation is unknown. Here we utilized whole genome sequencing data in ancestrally diverse participants of the NHLBI Trans Omics for Precision Medicine program (N = 50,675) to detect structural variants associated with hematologic traits. Using single variant tests, we assessed the association of common and rare structural variants with red cell-, white cell-, and platelet-related quantitative traits and observed 21 independent signals (12 common and 9 rare) reaching genome-wide significance. The majority of these associations (N = 18) replicated in independent datasets. In genome-editing experiments, we provide evidence that a deletion associated with lower monocyte counts leads to disruption of an S1PR3 monocyte enhancer and decreased S1PR3 expression.

%B Nat Commun %V 13 %P 7592 %8 2022 Dec 08 %G eng %N 1 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/36481753?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1038/s41467-022-35354-7 %0 Journal Article %J Cell Genom %D 2021 %T Association of mitochondrial DNA copy number with cardiometabolic diseases. %A Liu, Xue %A Longchamps, Ryan J %A Wiggins, Kerri L %A Raffield, Laura M %A Bielak, Lawrence F %A Zhao, Wei %A Pitsillides, Achilleas %A Blackwell, Thomas W %A Yao, Jie %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Kurniansyah, Nuzulul %A Thyagarajan, Bharat %A Pankratz, Nathan %A Rich, Stephen S %A Taylor, Kent D %A Peyser, Patricia A %A Heckbert, Susan R %A Seshadri, Sudha %A Cupples, L Adrienne %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Grove, Megan L %A Larson, Nicholas B %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Sofer, Tamar %A Fitzpatrick, Annette L %A Fornage, Myriam %A Ding, Jun %A Correa, Adolfo %A Abecasis, Goncalo %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Wilson, James G %A Levy, Daniel %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Bis, Joshua C %A Satizabal, Claudia L %A Arking, Dan E %A Liu, Chunyu %X

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) is present in multiple copies in human cells. We evaluated cross-sectional associations of whole blood mtDNA copy number (CN) with several cardiometabolic disease traits in 408,361 participants of multiple ancestries in TOPMed and UK Biobank. Age showed a threshold association with mtDNA CN: among younger participants (<65 years of age), each additional 10 years of age was associated with 0.03 standard deviation (s.d.) higher level of mtDNA CN ( = 0.0014) versus a 0.14 s.d. lower level of mtDNA CN ( = 1.82 × 10) among older participants (≥65 years). At lower mtDNA CN levels, we found age-independent associations with increased odds of obesity ( = 5.6 × 10), hypertension ( = 2.8 × 10), diabetes ( = 3.6 × 10), and hyperlipidemia ( = 6.3 × 10). The observed decline in mtDNA CN after 65 years of age may be a key to understanding age-related diseases.

%B Cell Genom %V 1 %8 2021 Oct 13 %G eng %N 1 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/35036986?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.xgen.2021.100006 %0 Journal Article %J Nature %D 2021 %T Author Correction: Inherited causes of clonal haematopoiesis in 97,691 whole genomes. %A Bick, Alexander G %A Weinstock, Joshua S %A Nandakumar, Satish K %A Fulco, Charles P %A Bao, Erik L %A Zekavat, Seyedeh M %A Szeto, Mindy D %A Liao, Xiaotian %A Leventhal, Matthew J %A Nasser, Joseph %A Chang, Kyle %A Laurie, Cecelia %A Burugula, Bala Bharathi %A Gibson, Christopher J %A Niroula, Abhishek %A Lin, Amy E %A Taub, Margaret A %A Aguet, Francois %A Ardlie, Kristin %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Barnes, Kathleen C %A Moscati, Arden %A Fornage, Myriam %A Redline, Susan %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Silverman, Edwin K %A Weiss, Scott T %A Palmer, Nicholette D %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Burchard, Esteban G %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A He, Jiang %A Kaplan, Robert C %A Smith, Nicholas L %A Arnett, Donna K %A Schwartz, David A %A Correa, Adolfo %A de Andrade, Mariza %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Konkle, Barbara A %A Custer, Brian %A Peralta, Juan M %A Gui, Hongsheng %A Meyers, Deborah A %A McGarvey, Stephen T %A Chen, Ida Yii-Der %A Shoemaker, M Benjamin %A Peyser, Patricia A %A Broome, Jai G %A Gogarten, Stephanie M %A Wang, Fei Fei %A Wong, Quenna %A Montasser, May E %A Daya, Michelle %A Kenny, Eimear E %A North, Kari E %A Launer, Lenore J %A Cade, Brian E %A Bis, Joshua C %A Cho, Michael H %A Lasky-Su, Jessica %A Bowden, Donald W %A Cupples, L Adrienne %A Mak, Angel C Y %A Becker, Lewis C %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Kelly, Tanika N %A Aslibekyan, Stella %A Heckbert, Susan R %A Tiwari, Hemant K %A Yang, Ivana V %A Heit, John A %A Lubitz, Steven A %A Johnsen, Jill M %A Curran, Joanne E %A Wenzel, Sally E %A Weeks, Daniel E %A Rao, Dabeeru C %A Darbar, Dawood %A Moon, Jee-Young %A Tracy, Russell P %A Buth, Erin J %A Rafaels, Nicholas %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Durda, Peter %A Liu, Yongmei %A Hou, Lifang %A Lee, Jiwon %A Kachroo, Priyadarshini %A Freedman, Barry I %A Levy, Daniel %A Bielak, Lawrence F %A Hixson, James E %A Floyd, James S %A Whitsel, Eric A %A Ellinor, Patrick T %A Irvin, Marguerite R %A Fingerlin, Tasha E %A Raffield, Laura M %A Armasu, Sebastian M %A Wheeler, Marsha M %A Sabino, Ester C %A Blangero, John %A Williams, L Keoki %A Levy, Bruce D %A Sheu, Wayne Huey-Herng %A Roden, Dan M %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Manson, JoAnn E %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Desai, Pinkal %A Taylor, Kent D %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Auer, Paul L %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Laurie, Cathy C %A Blackwell, Thomas W %A Smith, Albert V %A Zhao, Hongyu %A Lange, Ethan %A Lange, Leslie %A Rich, Stephen S %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Wilson, James G %A Scheet, Paul %A Kitzman, Jacob O %A Lander, Eric S %A Engreitz, Jesse M %A Ebert, Benjamin L %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Jaiswal, Siddhartha %A Abecasis, Goncalo %A Sankaran, Vijay G %A Kathiresan, Sekar %A Natarajan, Pradeep %B Nature %V 591 %P E27 %8 2021 Mar %G eng %N 7851 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33707633?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1038/s41586-021-03280-1 %0 Journal Article %J EBioMedicine %D 2021 %T Whole genome sequence analyses of eGFR in 23,732 people representing multiple ancestries in the NHLBI trans-omics for precision medicine (TOPMed) consortium. %A Lin, Bridget M %A Grinde, Kelsey E %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Breeze, Charles E %A Raffield, Laura M %A Mychaleckyj, Josyf C %A Thornton, Timothy A %A Perry, James A %A Baier, Leslie J %A de Las Fuentes, Lisa %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Heavner, Benjamin D %A Hanson, Robert L %A Hung, Yi-Jen %A Qian, Huijun %A Hsiung, Chao A %A Hwang, Shih-Jen %A Irvin, Margaret R %A Jain, Deepti %A Kelly, Tanika N %A Kobes, Sayuko %A Lange, Leslie %A Lash, James P %A Li, Yun %A Liu, Xiaoming %A Mi, Xuenan %A Musani, Solomon K %A Papanicolaou, George J %A Parsa, Afshin %A Reiner, Alex P %A Salimi, Shabnam %A Sheu, Wayne H-H %A Shuldiner, Alan R %A Taylor, Kent D %A Smith, Albert V %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Tin, Adrienne %A Vaidya, Dhananjay %A Wallace, Robert B %A Yamamoto, Kenichi %A Sakaue, Saori %A Matsuda, Koichi %A Kamatani, Yoichiro %A Momozawa, Yukihide %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Young, Betsi A %A Zhao, Wei %A Okada, Yukinori %A Abecasis, Gonzalo %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Arnett, Donna K %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Cai, Jianwen %A Yii-Der Chen, Ida %A Correa, Adolfo %A Cupples, L Adrienne %A He, Jiang %A Kardia, Sharon Lr %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Nickerson, Deborah A %A Turner, Steve T %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Levy, Daniel %A Kramer, Holly J %A Köttgen, Anna %A Rich, Stephen S %A Lin, Dan-Yu %A Browning, Sharon R %A Franceschini, Nora %K Alleles %K Gene Frequency %K Genetic Predisposition to Disease %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Genomics %K Glomerular Filtration Rate %K Humans %K Male %K National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (U.S.) %K Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide %K Precision Medicine %K Public Health Surveillance %K Quantitative Trait, Heritable %K United States %K Whole Genome Sequencing %X

BACKGROUND: Genetic factors that influence kidney traits have been understudied for low frequency and ancestry-specific variants.

METHODS: We combined whole genome sequencing (WGS) data from 23,732 participants from 10 NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Program multi-ethnic studies to identify novel loci for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Participants included European, African, East Asian, and Hispanic ancestries. We applied linear mixed models using a genetic relationship matrix estimated from the WGS data and adjusted for age, sex, study, and ethnicity.

FINDINGS: When testing single variants, we identified three novel loci driven by low frequency variants more commonly observed in non-European ancestry (PRKAA2, rs180996919, minor allele frequency [MAF] 0.04%, P = 6.1 × 10; METTL8, rs116951054, MAF 0.09%, P = 4.5 × 10; and MATK, rs539182790, MAF 0.05%, P = 3.4 × 10). We also replicated two known loci for common variants (rs2461702, MAF=0.49, P = 1.2 × 10, nearest gene GATM, and rs71147340, MAF=0.34, P = 3.3 × 10, CDK12). Testing aggregated variants within a gene identified the MAF gene. A statistical approach based on local ancestry helped to identify replication samples for ancestry-specific variants.

INTERPRETATION: This study highlights challenges in studying variants influencing kidney traits that are low frequency in populations and more common in non-European ancestry.

%B EBioMedicine %V 63 %P 103157 %8 2021 Jan %G eng %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33418499?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.ebiom.2020.103157 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Hum Genet %D 2020 %T Allelic Heterogeneity at the CRP Locus Identified by Whole-Genome Sequencing in Multi-ancestry Cohorts. %A Raffield, Laura M %A Iyengar, Apoorva K %A Wang, Biqi %A Gaynor, Sheila M %A Spracklen, Cassandra N %A Zhong, Xue %A Kowalski, Madeline H %A Salimi, Shabnam %A Polfus, Linda M %A Benjamin, Emelia J %A Bis, Joshua C %A Bowler, Russell %A Cade, Brian E %A Choi, Won Jung %A Comellas, Alejandro P %A Correa, Adolfo %A Cruz, Pedro %A Harshavardhan Doddapaneni %A Durda, Peter %A Gogarten, Stephanie M %A Jain, Deepti %A Kim, Ryan W %A Kral, Brian G %A Lange, Leslie A %A Larson, Martin G %A Laurie, Cecelia %A Lee, Jiwon %A Lee, Seonwook %A Lewis, Joshua P %A Ginger A Metcalf %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Momin, Zeineen %A Donna M Muzny %A Pankratz, Nathan %A Park, Cheol Joo %A Rich, Stephen S %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Ryan, Kathleen %A Seo, Daekwan %A Tracy, Russell P %A Viaud-Martinez, Karine A %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Zhao, Lue Ping %A Lin, Xihong %A Li, Bingshan %A Li, Yun %A Dupuis, Josée %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Mohlke, Karen L %A Auer, Paul L %K Asian People %K Black People %K C-Reactive Protein %K Cohort Studies %K Gene Frequency %K Genetic Predisposition to Disease %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Humans %K Linkage Disequilibrium %K Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide %K White People %K Whole Genome Sequencing %X

Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) can improve assessment of low-frequency and rare variants, particularly in non-European populations that have been underrepresented in existing genomic studies. The genetic determinants of C-reactive protein (CRP), a biomarker of chronic inflammation, have been extensively studied, with existing genome-wide association studies (GWASs) conducted in >200,000 individuals of European ancestry. In order to discover novel loci associated with CRP levels, we examined a multi-ancestry population (n = 23,279) with WGS (∼38× coverage) from the Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program. We found evidence for eight distinct associations at the CRP locus, including two variants that have not been identified previously (rs11265259 and rs181704186), both of which are non-coding and more common in individuals of African ancestry (∼10% and ∼1% minor allele frequency, respectively, and rare or monomorphic in 1000 Genomes populations of East Asian, South Asian, and European ancestry). We show that the minor (G) allele of rs181704186 is associated with lower CRP levels and decreased transcriptional activity and protein binding in vitro, providing a plausible molecular mechanism for this African ancestry-specific signal. The individuals homozygous for rs181704186-G have a mean CRP level of 0.23 mg/L, in contrast to individuals heterozygous for rs181704186 with mean CRP of 2.97 mg/L and major allele homozygotes with mean CRP of 4.11 mg/L. This study demonstrates the utility of WGS in multi-ethnic populations to drive discovery of complex trait associations of large effect and to identify functional alleles in noncoding regulatory regions.

%B Am J Hum Genet %V 106 %P 112-120 %8 2020 Jan 02 %G eng %N 1 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31883642?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.12.002 %0 Journal Article %J Nature %D 2020 %T Inherited causes of clonal haematopoiesis in 97,691 whole genomes. %A Bick, Alexander G %A Weinstock, Joshua S %A Nandakumar, Satish K %A Fulco, Charles P %A Bao, Erik L %A Zekavat, Seyedeh M %A Szeto, Mindy D %A Liao, Xiaotian %A Leventhal, Matthew J %A Nasser, Joseph %A Chang, Kyle %A Laurie, Cecelia %A Burugula, Bala Bharathi %A Gibson, Christopher J %A Lin, Amy E %A Taub, Margaret A %A Aguet, Francois %A Ardlie, Kristin %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Barnes, Kathleen C %A Moscati, Arden %A Fornage, Myriam %A Redline, Susan %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Silverman, Edwin K %A Weiss, Scott T %A Palmer, Nicholette D %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Burchard, Esteban G %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A He, Jiang %A Kaplan, Robert C %A Smith, Nicholas L %A Arnett, Donna K %A Schwartz, David A %A Correa, Adolfo %A de Andrade, Mariza %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Konkle, Barbara A %A Custer, Brian %A Peralta, Juan M %A Gui, Hongsheng %A Meyers, Deborah A %A McGarvey, Stephen T %A Chen, Ida Yii-Der %A Shoemaker, M Benjamin %A Peyser, Patricia A %A Broome, Jai G %A Gogarten, Stephanie M %A Wang, Fei Fei %A Wong, Quenna %A Montasser, May E %A Daya, Michelle %A Kenny, Eimear E %A North, Kari E %A Launer, Lenore J %A Cade, Brian E %A Bis, Joshua C %A Cho, Michael H %A Lasky-Su, Jessica %A Bowden, Donald W %A Cupples, L Adrienne %A Mak, Angel C Y %A Becker, Lewis C %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Kelly, Tanika N %A Aslibekyan, Stella %A Heckbert, Susan R %A Tiwari, Hemant K %A Yang, Ivana V %A Heit, John A %A Lubitz, Steven A %A Johnsen, Jill M %A Curran, Joanne E %A Wenzel, Sally E %A Weeks, Daniel E %A Rao, Dabeeru C %A Darbar, Dawood %A Moon, Jee-Young %A Tracy, Russell P %A Buth, Erin J %A Rafaels, Nicholas %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Durda, Peter %A Liu, Yongmei %A Hou, Lifang %A Lee, Jiwon %A Kachroo, Priyadarshini %A Freedman, Barry I %A Levy, Daniel %A Bielak, Lawrence F %A Hixson, James E %A Floyd, James S %A Whitsel, Eric A %A Ellinor, Patrick T %A Irvin, Marguerite R %A Fingerlin, Tasha E %A Raffield, Laura M %A Armasu, Sebastian M %A Wheeler, Marsha M %A Sabino, Ester C %A Blangero, John %A Williams, L Keoki %A Levy, Bruce D %A Sheu, Wayne Huey-Herng %A Roden, Dan M %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Manson, JoAnn E %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Desai, Pinkal %A Taylor, Kent D %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Auer, Paul L %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Laurie, Cathy C %A Blackwell, Thomas W %A Smith, Albert V %A Zhao, Hongyu %A Lange, Ethan %A Lange, Leslie %A Rich, Stephen S %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Wilson, James G %A Scheet, Paul %A Kitzman, Jacob O %A Lander, Eric S %A Engreitz, Jesse M %A Ebert, Benjamin L %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Jaiswal, Siddhartha %A Abecasis, Goncalo %A Sankaran, Vijay G %A Kathiresan, Sekar %A Natarajan, Pradeep %K Adult %K Africa %K Aged %K Aged, 80 and over %K alpha Karyopherins %K Black People %K Cell Self Renewal %K Clonal Hematopoiesis %K Dioxygenases %K DNA-Binding Proteins %K Female %K Genetic Predisposition to Disease %K Genome, Human %K Germ-Line Mutation %K Hematopoietic Stem Cells %K Humans %K Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins %K Male %K Middle Aged %K National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (U.S.) %K Phenotype %K Precision Medicine %K Proto-Oncogene Proteins %K Tripartite Motif Proteins %K United States %K Whole Genome Sequencing %X

Age is the dominant risk factor for most chronic human diseases, but the mechanisms through which ageing confers this risk are largely unknown. The age-related acquisition of somatic mutations that lead to clonal expansion in regenerating haematopoietic stem cell populations has recently been associated with both haematological cancer and coronary heart disease-this phenomenon is termed clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP). Simultaneous analyses of germline and somatic whole-genome sequences provide the opportunity to identify root causes of CHIP. Here we analyse high-coverage whole-genome sequences from 97,691 participants of diverse ancestries in the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute Trans-omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) programme, and identify 4,229 individuals with CHIP. We identify associations with blood cell, lipid and inflammatory traits that are specific to different CHIP driver genes. Association of a genome-wide set of germline genetic variants enabled the identification of three genetic loci associated with CHIP status, including one locus at TET2 that was specific to individuals of African ancestry. In silico-informed in vitro evaluation of the TET2 germline locus enabled the identification of a causal variant that disrupts a TET2 distal enhancer, resulting in increased self-renewal of haematopoietic stem cells. Overall, we observe that germline genetic variation shapes haematopoietic stem cell function, leading to CHIP through mechanisms that are specific to clonal haematopoiesis as well as shared mechanisms that lead to somatic mutations across tissues.

%B Nature %V 586 %P 763-768 %8 2020 Oct %G eng %N 7831 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/33057201?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1038/s41586-020-2819-2 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Hum Genet %D 2019 %T Impact of Rare and Common Genetic Variants on Diabetes Diagnosis by Hemoglobin A1c in Multi-Ancestry Cohorts: The Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine Program. %A Sarnowski, Chloe %A Leong, Aaron %A Raffield, Laura M %A Wu, Peitao %A de Vries, Paul S %A DiCorpo, Daniel %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Xu, Huichun %A Liu, Yongmei %A Zheng, Xiuwen %A Hu, Yao %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Goodarzi, Mark O %A Hidalgo, Bertha A %A Highland, Heather M %A Jain, Deepti %A Liu, Ching-Ti %A Naik, Rakhi P %A O'Connell, Jeffrey R %A Perry, James A %A Porneala, Bianca C %A Selvin, Elizabeth %A Wessel, Jennifer %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Curran, Joanne E %A Peralta, Juan M %A Blangero, John %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Mathias, Rasika %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Cupples, L Adrienne %A Vasan, Ramachandran S %A Correa, Adolfo %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Rich, Stephen S %A Manning, Alisa K %A Dupuis, Josée %A Meigs, James B %K Cohort Studies %K Diabetes Mellitus %K Female %K Genetic Variation %K Glycated Hemoglobin %K Humans %K Male %K Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide %K Population Groups %K Precision Medicine %X

Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) is widely used to diagnose diabetes and assess glycemic control in individuals with diabetes. However, nonglycemic determinants, including genetic variation, may influence how accurately HbA1c reflects underlying glycemia. Analyzing the NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) sequence data in 10,338 individuals from five studies and four ancestries (6,158 Europeans, 3,123 African-Americans, 650 Hispanics, and 407 East Asians), we confirmed five regions associated with HbA1c (GCK in Europeans and African-Americans, HK1 in Europeans and Hispanics, FN3K and/or FN3KRP in Europeans, and G6PD in African-Americans and Hispanics) and we identified an African-ancestry-specific low-frequency variant (rs1039215 in HBG2 and HBE1, minor allele frequency (MAF) = 0.03). The most associated G6PD variant (rs1050828-T, p.Val98Met, MAF = 12% in African-Americans, MAF = 2% in Hispanics) lowered HbA1c (-0.88% in hemizygous males, -0.34% in heterozygous females) and explained 23% of HbA1c variance in African-Americans and 4% in Hispanics. Additionally, we identified a rare distinct G6PD coding variant (rs76723693, p.Leu353Pro, MAF = 0.5%; -0.98% in hemizygous males, -0.46% in heterozygous females) and detected significant association with HbA1c when aggregating rare missense variants in G6PD. We observed similar magnitude and direction of effects for rs1039215 (HBG2) and rs76723693 (G6PD) in the two largest TOPMed African American cohorts, and we replicated the rs76723693 association in the UK Biobank African-ancestry participants. These variants in G6PD and HBG2 were monomorphic in the European and Asian samples. African or Hispanic ancestry individuals carrying G6PD variants may be underdiagnosed for diabetes when screened with HbA1c. Thus, assessment of these variants should be considered for incorporation into precision medicine approaches for diabetes diagnosis.

%B Am J Hum Genet %V 105 %P 706-718 %8 2019 Oct 03 %G eng %N 4 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31564435?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.ajhg.2019.08.010 %0 Journal Article %J PLoS Genet %D 2019 %T Use of >100,000 NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) Consortium whole genome sequences improves imputation quality and detection of rare variant associations in admixed African and Hispanic/Latino populations. %A Kowalski, Madeline H %A Qian, Huijun %A Hou, Ziyi %A Rosen, Jonathan D %A Tapia, Amanda L %A Shan, Yue %A Jain, Deepti %A Argos, Maria %A Arnett, Donna K %A Avery, Christy %A Barnes, Kathleen C %A Becker, Lewis C %A Bien, Stephanie A %A Bis, Joshua C %A Blangero, John %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Bowden, Donald W %A Buyske, Steve %A Cai, Jianwen %A Cho, Michael H %A Choi, Seung Hoan %A Choquet, Hélène %A Cupples, L Adrienne %A Cushman, Mary %A Daya, Michelle %A de Vries, Paul S %A Ellinor, Patrick T %A Faraday, Nauder %A Fornage, Myriam %A Gabriel, Stacey %A Ganesh, Santhi K %A Graff, Misa %A Gupta, Namrata %A He, Jiang %A Heckbert, Susan R %A Hidalgo, Bertha %A Hodonsky, Chani J %A Irvin, Marguerite R %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Jorgenson, Eric %A Kaplan, Robert %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A Kelly, Tanika N %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Lasky-Su, Jessica A %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Lubitz, Steven A %A Mathias, Rasika A %A McHugh, Caitlin P %A Montgomery, Courtney %A Moon, Jee-Young %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Palmer, Nicholette D %A Pankratz, Nathan %A Papanicolaou, George J %A Peralta, Juan M %A Peyser, Patricia A %A Rich, Stephen S %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Silverman, Edwin K %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Smith, Nicholas L %A Taylor, Kent D %A Thornton, Timothy A %A Tiwari, Hemant K %A Tracy, Russell P %A Wang, Tao %A Weiss, Scott T %A Weng, Lu-Chen %A Wiggins, Kerri L %A Wilson, James G %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Zöllner, Sebastian %A North, Kari E %A Auer, Paul L %A Raffield, Laura M %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Li, Yun %K Adult %K Aged %K Aged, 80 and over %K beta-Globins %K Black or African American %K Computational Biology %K Databases, Genetic %K Female %K Gene Frequency %K Genetic Predisposition to Disease %K Genetics, Population %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Genotyping Techniques %K Hispanic or Latino %K Humans %K Linkage Disequilibrium %K Male %K Middle Aged %K Precision Medicine %K United States %K Whole Genome Sequencing %X

Most genome-wide association and fine-mapping studies to date have been conducted in individuals of European descent, and genetic studies of populations of Hispanic/Latino and African ancestry are limited. In addition, these populations have more complex linkage disequilibrium structure. In order to better define the genetic architecture of these understudied populations, we leveraged >100,000 phased sequences available from deep-coverage whole genome sequencing through the multi-ethnic NHLBI Trans-Omics for Precision Medicine (TOPMed) program to impute genotypes into admixed African and Hispanic/Latino samples with genome-wide genotyping array data. We demonstrated that using TOPMed sequencing data as the imputation reference panel improves genotype imputation quality in these populations, which subsequently enhanced gene-mapping power for complex traits. For rare variants with minor allele frequency (MAF) < 0.5%, we observed a 2.3- to 6.1-fold increase in the number of well-imputed variants, with 11-34% improvement in average imputation quality, compared to the state-of-the-art 1000 Genomes Project Phase 3 and Haplotype Reference Consortium reference panels. Impressively, even for extremely rare variants with minor allele count <10 (including singletons) in the imputation target samples, average information content rescued was >86%. Subsequent association analyses of TOPMed reference panel-imputed genotype data with hematological traits (hemoglobin (HGB), hematocrit (HCT), and white blood cell count (WBC)) in ~21,600 African-ancestry and ~21,700 Hispanic/Latino individuals identified associations with two rare variants in the HBB gene (rs33930165 with higher WBC [p = 8.8x10-15] in African populations, rs11549407 with lower HGB [p = 1.5x10-12] and HCT [p = 8.8x10-10] in Hispanics/Latinos). By comparison, neither variant would have been genome-wide significant if either 1000 Genomes Project Phase 3 or Haplotype Reference Consortium reference panels had been used for imputation. Our findings highlight the utility of the TOPMed imputation reference panel for identification of novel rare variant associations not previously detected in similarly sized genome-wide studies of under-represented African and Hispanic/Latino populations.

%B PLoS Genet %V 15 %P e1008500 %8 2019 Dec %G eng %N 12 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31869403?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1371/journal.pgen.1008500 %0 Journal Article %J Nat Commun %D 2018 %T GWAS and colocalization analyses implicate carotid intima-media thickness and carotid plaque loci in cardiovascular outcomes. %A Franceschini, Nora %A Giambartolomei, Claudia %A de Vries, Paul S %A Finan, Chris %A Bis, Joshua C %A Huntley, Rachael P %A Lovering, Ruth C %A Tajuddin, Salman M %A Winkler, Thomas W %A Graff, Misa %A Kavousi, Maryam %A Dale, Caroline %A Smith, Albert V %A Hofer, Edith %A van Leeuwen, Elisabeth M %A Nolte, Ilja M %A Lu, Lingyi %A Scholz, Markus %A Sargurupremraj, Muralidharan %A Pitkänen, Niina %A Franzén, Oscar %A Joshi, Peter K %A Noordam, Raymond %A Marioni, Riccardo E %A Hwang, Shih-Jen %A Musani, Solomon K %A Schminke, Ulf %A Palmas, Walter %A Isaacs, Aaron %A Correa, Adolfo %A Zonderman, Alan B %A Hofman, Albert %A Teumer, Alexander %A Cox, Amanda J %A Uitterlinden, André G %A Wong, Andrew %A Smit, Andries J %A Newman, Anne B %A Britton, Annie %A Ruusalepp, Arno %A Sennblad, Bengt %A Hedblad, Bo %A Pasaniuc, Bogdan %A Penninx, Brenda W %A Langefeld, Carl D %A Wassel, Christina L %A Tzourio, Christophe %A Fava, Cristiano %A Baldassarre, Damiano %A O'Leary, Daniel H %A Teupser, Daniel %A Kuh, Diana %A Tremoli, Elena %A Mannarino, Elmo %A Grossi, Enzo %A Eric Boerwinkle %A Schadt, Eric E %A Ingelsson, Erik %A Veglia, Fabrizio %A Rivadeneira, Fernando %A Beutner, Frank %A Chauhan, Ganesh %A Heiss, Gerardo %A Snieder, Harold %A Campbell, Harry %A Völzke, Henry %A Markus, Hugh S %A Deary, Ian J %A Jukema, J Wouter %A de Graaf, Jacqueline %A Price, Jacqueline %A Pott, Janne %A Hopewell, Jemma C %A Liang, Jingjing %A Thiery, Joachim %A Engmann, Jorgen %A Gertow, Karl %A Rice, Kenneth %A Taylor, Kent D %A Dhana, Klodian %A Kiemeney, Lambertus A L M %A Lind, Lars %A Raffield, Laura M %A Launer, Lenore J %A Holdt, Lesca M %A Dörr, Marcus %A Dichgans, Martin %A Traylor, Matthew %A Sitzer, Matthias %A Kumari, Meena %A Kivimaki, Mika %A Nalls, Mike A %A Melander, Olle %A Raitakari, Olli %A Franco, Oscar H %A Rueda-Ochoa, Oscar L %A Roussos, Panos %A Whincup, Peter H %A Amouyel, Philippe %A Giral, Philippe %A Anugu, Pramod %A Wong, Quenna %A Malik, Rainer %A Rauramaa, Rainer %A Burkhardt, Ralph %A Hardy, Rebecca %A Schmidt, Reinhold %A de Mutsert, Renée %A Morris, Richard W %A Strawbridge, Rona J %A Wannamethee, S Goya %A Hägg, Sara %A Shah, Sonia %A McLachlan, Stela %A Trompet, Stella %A Seshadri, Sudha %A Kurl, Sudhir %A Heckbert, Susan R %A Ring, Susan %A Harris, Tamara B %A Lehtimäki, Terho %A Galesloot, Tessel E %A Shah, Tina %A de Faire, Ulf %A Plagnol, Vincent %A Rosamond, Wayne D %A Post, Wendy %A Zhu, Xiaofeng %A Zhang, Xiaoling %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Saba, Yasaman %A Dehghan, Abbas %A Seldenrijk, Adrie %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Hamsten, Anders %A Psaty, Bruce M %A van Duijn, Cornelia M %A Lawlor, Deborah A %A Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O %A Bowden, Donald W %A Schmidt, Helena %A Wilson, James F %A Wilson, James G %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Wardlaw, Joanna M %A Deanfield, John %A Halcox, Julian %A Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka %A Loeffler, Markus %A Evans, Michele K %A Debette, Stephanie %A Humphries, Steve E %A Völker, Uwe %A Gudnason, Vilmundur %A Hingorani, Aroon D %A Björkegren, Johan L M %A Casas, Juan P %A O'Donnell, Christopher J %K ADAMTS9 Protein %K Amino Acid Oxidoreductases %K Carotid Intima-Media Thickness %K Coronary Disease %K Genetic Predisposition to Disease %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Humans %K Lod Score %K Plaque, Atherosclerotic %K Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide %K Protein-Lysine 6-Oxidase %K Quantitative Trait Loci %K Risk Factors %X

Carotid artery intima media thickness (cIMT) and carotid plaque are measures of subclinical atherosclerosis associated with ischemic stroke and coronary heart disease (CHD). Here, we undertake meta-analyses of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in 71,128 individuals for cIMT, and 48,434 individuals for carotid plaque traits. We identify eight novel susceptibility loci for cIMT, one independent association at the previously-identified PINX1 locus, and one novel locus for carotid plaque. Colocalization analysis with nearby vascular expression quantitative loci (cis-eQTLs) derived from arterial wall and metabolic tissues obtained from patients with CHD identifies candidate genes at two potentially additional loci, ADAMTS9 and LOXL4. LD score regression reveals significant genetic correlations between cIMT and plaque traits, and both cIMT and plaque with CHD, any stroke subtype and ischemic stroke. Our study provides insights into genes and tissue-specific regulatory mechanisms linking atherosclerosis both to its functional genomic origins and its clinical consequences in humans.

%B Nat Commun %V 9 %P 5141 %8 2018 Dec 03 %G eng %N 1 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30510157?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1038/s41467-018-07340-5 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Hum Genet %D 2016 %T Exome Genotyping Identifies Pleiotropic Variants Associated with Red Blood Cell Traits. %A Chami, Nathalie %A Chen, Ming-Huei %A Slater, Andrew J %A Eicher, John D %A Evangelou, Evangelos %A Tajuddin, Salman M %A Love-Gregory, Latisha %A Kacprowski, Tim %A Schick, Ursula M %A Nomura, Akihiro %A Giri, Ayush %A Lessard, Samuel %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Schurmann, Claudia %A Pankratz, Nathan %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Manichaikul, Ani %A Pazoki, Raha %A Mihailov, Evelin %A Hill, W David %A Raffield, Laura M %A Burt, Amber %A Bartz, Traci M %A Becker, Diane M %A Becker, Lewis C %A Boerwinkle, Eric %A Bork-Jensen, Jette %A Bottinger, Erwin P %A O'Donoghue, Michelle L %A Crosslin, David R %A de Denus, Simon %A Dube, Marie-Pierre %A Elliott, Paul %A Engström, Gunnar %A Evans, Michele K %A Floyd, James S %A Fornage, Myriam %A Gao, He %A Greinacher, Andreas %A Gudnason, Vilmundur %A Hansen, Torben %A Harris, Tamara B %A Hayward, Caroline %A Hernesniemi, Jussi %A Highland, Heather M %A Hirschhorn, Joel N %A Hofman, Albert %A Irvin, Marguerite R %A Kähönen, Mika %A Lange, Ethan %A Launer, Lenore J %A Lehtimäki, Terho %A Li, Jin %A Liewald, David C M %A Linneberg, Allan %A Liu, Yongmei %A Lu, Yingchang %A Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka %A Mägi, Reedik %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Melander, Olle %A Metspalu, Andres %A Mononen, Nina %A Nalls, Mike A %A Nickerson, Deborah A %A Nikus, Kjell %A O'Donnell, Chris J %A Orho-Melander, Marju %A Pedersen, Oluf %A Petersmann, Astrid %A Polfus, Linda %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Raitakari, Olli T %A Raitoharju, Emma %A Richard, Melissa %A Rice, Kenneth M %A Rivadeneira, Fernando %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Schmidt, Frank %A Smith, Albert Vernon %A Starr, John M %A Taylor, Kent D %A Teumer, Alexander %A Thuesen, Betina H %A Torstenson, Eric S %A Tracy, Russell P %A Tzoulaki, Ioanna %A Zakai, Neil A %A Vacchi-Suzzi, Caterina %A van Duijn, Cornelia M %A van Rooij, Frank J A %A Cushman, Mary %A Deary, Ian J %A Velez Edwards, Digna R %A Vergnaud, Anne-Claire %A Wallentin, Lars %A Waterworth, Dawn M %A White, Harvey D %A Wilson, James G %A Zonderman, Alan B %A Kathiresan, Sekar %A Grarup, Niels %A Esko, Tõnu %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Lange, Leslie A %A Faraday, Nauder %A Abumrad, Nada A %A Edwards, Todd L %A Ganesh, Santhi K %A Auer, Paul L %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Reiner, Alexander P %A Lettre, Guillaume %K Allelic Imbalance %K Black or African American %K Erythrocyte Indices %K Erythrocytes %K Erythropoiesis %K Exome %K Gene Frequency %K Genetic Pleiotropy %K Genetic Variation %K Genotype %K Hematocrit %K Hemoglobins %K Humans %K Quantitative Trait Loci %X

Red blood cell (RBC) traits are important heritable clinical biomarkers and modifiers of disease severity. To identify coding genetic variants associated with these traits, we conducted meta-analyses of seven RBC phenotypes in 130,273 multi-ethnic individuals from studies genotyped on an exome array. After conditional analyses and replication in 27,480 independent individuals, we identified 16 new RBC variants. We found low-frequency missense variants in MAP1A (rs55707100, minor allele frequency [MAF] = 3.3%, p = 2 × 10(-10) for hemoglobin [HGB]) and HNF4A (rs1800961, MAF = 2.4%, p < 3 × 10(-8) for hematocrit [HCT] and HGB). In African Americans, we identified a nonsense variant in CD36 associated with higher RBC distribution width (rs3211938, MAF = 8.7%, p = 7 × 10(-11)) and showed that it is associated with lower CD36 expression and strong allelic imbalance in ex vivo differentiated human erythroblasts. We also identified a rare missense variant in ALAS2 (rs201062903, MAF = 0.2%) associated with lower mean corpuscular volume and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (p < 8 × 10(-9)). Mendelian mutations in ALAS2 are a cause of sideroblastic anemia and erythropoietic protoporphyria. Gene-based testing highlighted three rare missense variants in PKLR, a gene mutated in Mendelian non-spherocytic hemolytic anemia, associated with HGB and HCT (SKAT p < 8 × 10(-7)). These rare, low-frequency, and common RBC variants showed pleiotropy, being also associated with platelet, white blood cell, and lipid traits. Our association results and functional annotation suggest the involvement of new genes in human erythropoiesis. We also confirm that rare and low-frequency variants play a role in the architecture of complex human traits, although their phenotypic effect is generally smaller than originally anticipated.

%B Am J Hum Genet %V 99 %P 8-21 %8 2016 Jul 07 %G eng %N 1 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27346685?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.05.007 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Hum Genet %D 2016 %T Large-Scale Exome-wide Association Analysis Identifies Loci for White Blood Cell Traits and Pleiotropy with Immune-Mediated Diseases. %A Tajuddin, Salman M %A Schick, Ursula M %A Eicher, John D %A Chami, Nathalie %A Giri, Ayush %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Hill, W David %A Kacprowski, Tim %A Li, Jin %A Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka %A Manichaikul, Ani %A Mihailov, Evelin %A O'Donoghue, Michelle L %A Pankratz, Nathan %A Pazoki, Raha %A Polfus, Linda M %A Smith, Albert Vernon %A Schurmann, Claudia %A Vacchi-Suzzi, Caterina %A Waterworth, Dawn M %A Evangelou, Evangelos %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Burt, Amber %A Chen, Ming-Huei %A van Rooij, Frank J A %A Floyd, James S %A Greinacher, Andreas %A Harris, Tamara B %A Highland, Heather M %A Lange, Leslie A %A Liu, Yongmei %A Mägi, Reedik %A Nalls, Mike A %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Nickerson, Deborah A %A Nikus, Kjell %A Starr, John M %A Tardif, Jean-Claude %A Tzoulaki, Ioanna %A Velez Edwards, Digna R %A Wallentin, Lars %A Bartz, Traci M %A Becker, Lewis C %A Denny, Joshua C %A Raffield, Laura M %A Rioux, John D %A Friedrich, Nele %A Fornage, Myriam %A Gao, He %A Hirschhorn, Joel N %A Liewald, David C M %A Rich, Stephen S %A Uitterlinden, Andre %A Bastarache, Lisa %A Becker, Diane M %A Boerwinkle, Eric %A de Denus, Simon %A Bottinger, Erwin P %A Hayward, Caroline %A Hofman, Albert %A Homuth, Georg %A Lange, Ethan %A Launer, Lenore J %A Lehtimäki, Terho %A Lu, Yingchang %A Metspalu, Andres %A O'Donnell, Chris J %A Quarells, Rakale C %A Richard, Melissa %A Torstenson, Eric S %A Taylor, Kent D %A Vergnaud, Anne-Claire %A Zonderman, Alan B %A Crosslin, David R %A Deary, Ian J %A Dörr, Marcus %A Elliott, Paul %A Evans, Michele K %A Gudnason, Vilmundur %A Kähönen, Mika %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Slater, Andrew J %A Dehghan, Abbas %A White, Harvey D %A Ganesh, Santhi K %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Esko, Tõnu %A Faraday, Nauder %A Wilson, James G %A Cushman, Mary %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Edwards, Todd L %A Zakai, Neil A %A Lettre, Guillaume %A Reiner, Alex P %A Auer, Paul L %K Blood Cell Count %K Exome %K Genetic Loci %K Genetic Pleiotropy %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Humans %K Immune System Diseases %K Leukocytes %K Quality Control %X

White blood cells play diverse roles in innate and adaptive immunity. Genetic association analyses of phenotypic variation in circulating white blood cell (WBC) counts from large samples of otherwise healthy individuals can provide insights into genes and biologic pathways involved in production, differentiation, or clearance of particular WBC lineages (myeloid, lymphoid) and also potentially inform the genetic basis of autoimmune, allergic, and blood diseases. We performed an exome array-based meta-analysis of total WBC and subtype counts (neutrophils, monocytes, lymphocytes, basophils, and eosinophils) in a multi-ancestry discovery and replication sample of ∼157,622 individuals from 25 studies. We identified 16 common variants (8 of which were coding variants) associated with one or more WBC traits, the majority of which are pleiotropically associated with autoimmune diseases. Based on functional annotation, these loci included genes encoding surface markers of myeloid, lymphoid, or hematopoietic stem cell differentiation (CD69, CD33, CD87), transcription factors regulating lineage specification during hematopoiesis (ASXL1, IRF8, IKZF1, JMJD1C, ETS2-PSMG1), and molecules involved in neutrophil clearance/apoptosis (C10orf54, LTA), adhesion (TNXB), or centrosome and microtubule structure/function (KIF9, TUBD1). Together with recent reports of somatic ASXL1 mutations among individuals with idiopathic cytopenias or clonal hematopoiesis of undetermined significance, the identification of a common regulatory 3' UTR variant of ASXL1 suggests that both germline and somatic ASXL1 mutations contribute to lower blood counts in otherwise asymptomatic individuals. These association results shed light on genetic mechanisms that regulate circulating WBC counts and suggest a prominent shared genetic architecture with inflammatory and autoimmune diseases.

%B Am J Hum Genet %V 99 %P 22-39 %8 2016 Jul 07 %G eng %N 1 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27346689?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.05.003 %0 Journal Article %J Am J Hum Genet %D 2016 %T Platelet-Related Variants Identified by Exomechip Meta-analysis in 157,293 Individuals. %A Eicher, John D %A Chami, Nathalie %A Kacprowski, Tim %A Nomura, Akihiro %A Chen, Ming-Huei %A Yanek, Lisa R %A Tajuddin, Salman M %A Schick, Ursula M %A Slater, Andrew J %A Pankratz, Nathan %A Polfus, Linda %A Schurmann, Claudia %A Giri, Ayush %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Lange, Leslie A %A Manichaikul, Ani %A Hill, W David %A Pazoki, Raha %A Elliot, Paul %A Evangelou, Evangelos %A Tzoulaki, Ioanna %A Gao, He %A Vergnaud, Anne-Claire %A Mathias, Rasika A %A Becker, Diane M %A Becker, Lewis C %A Burt, Amber %A Crosslin, David R %A Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka %A Nikus, Kjell %A Hernesniemi, Jussi %A Kähönen, Mika %A Raitoharju, Emma %A Mononen, Nina %A Raitakari, Olli T %A Lehtimäki, Terho %A Cushman, Mary %A Zakai, Neil A %A Nickerson, Deborah A %A Raffield, Laura M %A Quarells, Rakale %A Willer, Cristen J %A Peloso, Gina M %A Abecasis, Gonçalo R %A Liu, Dajiang J %A Deloukas, Panos %A Samani, Nilesh J %A Schunkert, Heribert %A Erdmann, Jeanette %A Fornage, Myriam %A Richard, Melissa %A Tardif, Jean-Claude %A Rioux, John D %A Dube, Marie-Pierre %A de Denus, Simon %A Lu, Yingchang %A Bottinger, Erwin P %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Smith, Albert Vernon %A Harris, Tamara B %A Launer, Lenore J %A Gudnason, Vilmundur %A Velez Edwards, Digna R %A Torstenson, Eric S %A Liu, Yongmei %A Tracy, Russell P %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Rich, Stephen S %A Highland, Heather M %A Boerwinkle, Eric %A Li, Jin %A Lange, Ethan %A Wilson, James G %A Mihailov, Evelin %A Mägi, Reedik %A Hirschhorn, Joel %A Metspalu, Andres %A Esko, Tõnu %A Vacchi-Suzzi, Caterina %A Nalls, Mike A %A Zonderman, Alan B %A Evans, Michele K %A Engström, Gunnar %A Orho-Melander, Marju %A Melander, Olle %A O'Donoghue, Michelle L %A Waterworth, Dawn M %A Wallentin, Lars %A White, Harvey D %A Floyd, James S %A Bartz, Traci M %A Rice, Kenneth M %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Starr, J M %A Liewald, David C M %A Hayward, Caroline %A Deary, Ian J %A Greinacher, Andreas %A Völker, Uwe %A Thiele, Thomas %A Völzke, Henry %A van Rooij, Frank J A %A Uitterlinden, André G %A Franco, Oscar H %A Dehghan, Abbas %A Edwards, Todd L %A Ganesh, Santhi K %A Kathiresan, Sekar %A Faraday, Nauder %A Auer, Paul L %A Reiner, Alex P %A Lettre, Guillaume %A Johnson, Andrew D %K Blood Platelets %K Exome %K Female %K Genetic Variation %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Humans %K Male %K Mean Platelet Volume %K Platelet Count %X

Platelet production, maintenance, and clearance are tightly controlled processes indicative of platelets' important roles in hemostasis and thrombosis. Platelets are common targets for primary and secondary prevention of several conditions. They are monitored clinically by complete blood counts, specifically with measurements of platelet count (PLT) and mean platelet volume (MPV). Identifying genetic effects on PLT and MPV can provide mechanistic insights into platelet biology and their role in disease. Therefore, we formed the Blood Cell Consortium (BCX) to perform a large-scale meta-analysis of Exomechip association results for PLT and MPV in 157,293 and 57,617 individuals, respectively. Using the low-frequency/rare coding variant-enriched Exomechip genotyping array, we sought to identify genetic variants associated with PLT and MPV. In addition to confirming 47 known PLT and 20 known MPV associations, we identified 32 PLT and 18 MPV associations not previously observed in the literature across the allele frequency spectrum, including rare large effect (FCER1A), low-frequency (IQGAP2, MAP1A, LY75), and common (ZMIZ2, SMG6, PEAR1, ARFGAP3/PACSIN2) variants. Several variants associated with PLT/MPV (PEAR1, MRVI1, PTGES3) were also associated with platelet reactivity. In concurrent BCX analyses, there was overlap of platelet-associated variants with red (MAP1A, TMPRSS6, ZMIZ2) and white (PEAR1, ZMIZ2, LY75) blood cell traits, suggesting common regulatory pathways with shared genetic architecture among these hematopoietic lineages. Our large-scale Exomechip analyses identified previously undocumented associations with platelet traits and further indicate that several complex quantitative hematological, lipid, and cardiovascular traits share genetic factors.

%B Am J Hum Genet %V 99 %P 40-55 %8 2016 Jul 07 %G eng %N 1 %1 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27346686?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1016/j.ajhg.2016.05.005