1. Adipose Tissue Gene Expression Associations Reveal Hundreds of Candidate Genes for Cardiometabolic Traits.
- Author
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Raulerson CK, Ko A, Kidd JC, Currin KW, Brotman SM, Cannon ME, Wu Y, Spracklen CN, Jackson AU, Stringham HM, Welch RP, Fuchsberger C, Locke AE, Narisu N, Lusis AJ, Civelek M, Furey TS, Kuusisto J, Collins FS, Boehnke M, Scott LJ, Lin DY, Love MI, Laakso M, Pajukanta P, and Mohlke KL
- Subjects
- Alleles, Body Mass Index, Finland, Genome-Wide Association Study, Humans, Male, Quantitative Trait Loci, Waist-Hip Ratio, Adipose Tissue metabolism, Diabetes Mellitus, Type 2 genetics, Gene Expression, Obesity genetics
- Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified thousands of genetic loci associated with cardiometabolic traits including type 2 diabetes (T2D), lipid levels, body fat distribution, and adiposity, although most causal genes remain unknown. We used subcutaneous adipose tissue RNA-seq data from 434 Finnish men from the METSIM study to identify 9,687 primary and 2,785 secondary cis-expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL; <1 Mb from TSS, FDR < 1%). Compared to primary eQTL signals, secondary eQTL signals were located further from transcription start sites, had smaller effect sizes, and were less enriched in adipose tissue regulatory elements compared to primary signals. Among 2,843 cardiometabolic GWAS signals, 262 colocalized by LD and conditional analysis with 318 transcripts as primary and conditionally distinct secondary cis-eQTLs, including some across ancestries. Of cardiometabolic traits examined for adipose tissue eQTL colocalizations, waist-hip ratio (WHR) and circulating lipid traits had the highest percentage of colocalized eQTLs (15% and 14%, respectively). Among alleles associated with increased cardiometabolic GWAS risk, approximately half (53%) were associated with decreased gene expression level. Mediation analyses of colocalized genes and cardiometabolic traits within the 434 individuals provided further evidence that gene expression influences variant-trait associations. These results identify hundreds of candidate genes that may act in adipose tissue to influence cardiometabolic traits., (Copyright © 2019 American Society of Human Genetics. All rights reserved.)
- Published
- 2019
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