Whole-Exome Sequencing Identifies a Variant in Phosphatidylethanolamine N-Methyltransferase Gene to be Associated With Lean-Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.
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ABSTRACT: Background and aim:Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a spectrum of liver diseases with simple steatosis on one end and hepatocellular carcinoma on the other. Although obesity is a known risk factor for NAFLD, individuals with normal body mass index (BMI) also have hepatic fatty infiltration, now termed "lean-NAFLD". It represents a distinct entity with a strong underlying genetic component. The present study aimed to sequence the complete exonic regions of individuals with lean-NAFLD to identify germline causative variants associated with disrupted hepatic fatty acid metabolism, thereby conferring susceptibility to NAFLD. Methods:Whole blood was collected from patients with lean-NAFLD (n = 6; BMI < 23.0 kg/m2) and matched lean controls (n = 2; discovery set). Liver fat was assessed using acoustic radiation force impulse (ARFI) imaging. Patients with ultrasound-detected NAFLD (n = 191) and controls (n = 105) were part of validation set. DNA was isolated, and whole-exome sequencing (WES) was performed in the discovery cohort (Ion Proton™; Ion AmpliSeq™ Exome RDY Kit). Data were analyzed (Ion Reporter software; Life Technologies), and variants identified. Validation of variants was carried out (Taqman probes; Real time-PCR). Student's t test and Fisher's exact test were used to analyze the statistical significance. Results:Although WES identified ?74,000 variants in individual samples, using various pipelines. variants in genes namely phosphatidylethanolamine N-methyltransferase (PEMT) and oxysterol-binding protein-related protein10 (OSBPL10) that have roles in dietary choline intake and regulation of cholesterol homeostasis, respectively, were identified (discovery set). Furthermore, significant differences were noted in BMI (p = 0.006), waist/hip circumference (p > 0.001), waist/hip ratio (p > 0.001), aspartate aminotransferase (p > 0.001), alanine aminotransferase (p > 0.001), and triglycerides (p = 0.002) between patients and controls. Validation of variants (rs7946-PEMT and rs2290532-OSBPL10) revealed that variant in PEMT but not OSBPL10 gene was associated (p = 0.04) with threefold increased risk of NAFLD in lean individuals. Conclusion:Our results demonstrate the association of rs7946 with lean-NAFLD. WES may be an effective strategy to identify causative variants underlying lean-NAFLD.
SUBMITTER: Bale G
PROVIDER: S-EPMC6823660 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Sep-Oct
REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature
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