Large-scale genome-wide association study of Asian population reveals genetic factors in FRMD4A and other loci influencing smoking initiation and nicotine dependence

Diseases related to smoking are the second leading cause of death in the world. Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for several diseases such as cancer and cardiovascular and respiratory disorders. Despite increasing evidence of genetic determination, the susceptibility genes and loci underlying various aspects of smoking behavior are largely unknown. Moreover, almost all reported genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have been performed on samples of European origin, limiting the applicability of the results to other ethnic populations. In this first GWAS on smoking behavior in an Asian population, after analyzing 8,842 DNA samples from the Korea Association Resource project with 352,228 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) genotyped for each sample, we identified 8 SNPs significantly associated with smoking initiation (SI) and 4 with nicotine dependence (ND). Because of the current unavailability of an independent Asian smoking sample, we replicated the discoveries in independent samples of European-American and African-American origin. Of the 12 SNPs examined in the replicated samples, we identified two SNPs, in the regulator of G-protein signaling 17 gene (rs7747583, p value(meta) = 6.40 × 10(-6); rs2349433, p value(meta) = 5.57 × 10(-6)), associated with SI. Also, we found two SNPs significantly associated with ND; one in the FERM domain containing 4A (rs4424567, p value(meta) = 2.30 × 10(-6)) and the other at 7q31.1 (rs848353, p value(meta) = 9.16 × 10(-8)). These SNPs represent novel targets for examination of smoking behavior and warrant further investigation using independent samples.