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Minority-centric meta-analyses of blood lipid levels identify novel loci in the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) study.

ABSTRACT: Lipid levels are important markers for the development of cardio-metabolic diseases. Although hundreds of associated loci have been identified through genetic association studies, the contribution of genetic factors to variation in lipids is not fully understood, particularly in U.S. minority groups. We performed genome-wide association analyses for four lipid traits in over 45,000 ancestrally diverse participants from the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) Study, followed by a meta-analysis with several European ancestry studies. We identified nine novel lipid loci, five of which showed evidence of replication in independent studies. Furthermore, we discovered one novel gene in a PrediXcan analysis, minority-specific independent signals at eight previously reported loci, and potential functional variants at two known loci through fine-mapping. Systematic examination of known lipid loci revealed smaller effect estimates in African American and Hispanic ancestry populations than those in Europeans, and better performance of polygenic risk scores based on minority-specific effect estimates. Our findings provide new insight into the genetic architecture of lipid traits and highlight the importance of conducting genetic studies in diverse populations in the era of precision medicine.

SUBMITTER: Hu Y

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7145272 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Minority-centric meta-analyses of blood lipid levels identify novel loci in the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) study.

Hu Yao Y Graff Mariaelisa M Haessler Jeffrey J Buyske Steven S Bien Stephanie A SA Tao Ran R Highland Heather M HM Nishimura Katherine K KK Zubair Niha N Lu Yingchang Y Verbanck Marie M Hilliard Austin T AT Klarin Derek D Damrauer Scott M SM Ho Yuk-Lam YL Wilson Peter W F PWF Chang Kyong-Mi KM Tsao Philip S PS Cho Kelly K O'Donnell Christopher J CJ Assimes Themistocles L TL Petty Lauren E LE Below Jennifer E JE Dikilitas Ozan O Schaid Daniel J DJ Kosel Matthew L ML Kullo Iftikhar J IJ Rasmussen-Torvik Laura J LJ Jarvik Gail P GP Feng Qiping Q Wei Wei-Qi WQ Larson Eric B EB Mentch Frank D FD Almoguera Berta B Sleiman Patrick M PM Raffield Laura M LM Correa Adolfo A Martin Lisa W LW Daviglus Martha M Matise Tara C TC Ambite Jose Luis JL Carlson Christopher S CS Do Ron R Loos Ruth J F RJF Wilkens Lynne R LR Le Marchand Loic L Haiman Chris C Stram Daniel O DO Hindorff Lucia A LA North Kari E KE Kooperberg Charles C Cheng Iona I Peters Ulrike U

PLoS genetics 20200330 3

Lipid levels are important markers for the development of cardio-metabolic diseases. Although hundreds of associated loci have been identified through genetic association studies, the contribution of genetic factors to variation in lipids is not fully understood, particularly in U.S. minority groups. We performed genome-wide association analyses for four lipid traits in over 45,000 ancestrally diverse participants from the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) Study, fol ...[more]

PMID: 32226016

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Project description:STUDY QUESTIONDo genetic associations identified in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of age at menarche (AM) and age at natural menopause (ANM) replicate in women of diverse race/ancestry from the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) Study?SUMMARY ANSWERWe replicated GWAS reproductive trait single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in our European descent population and found that many SNPs were also associated with AM and ANM in populations of diverse ancestry.WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADYMenarche and menopause mark the reproductive lifespan in women and are important risk factors for chronic diseases including obesity, cardiovascular disease and cancer. Both events are believed to be influenced by environmental and genetic factors, and vary in populations differing by genetic ancestry and geography. Most genetic variants associated with these traits have been identified in GWAS of European-descent populations.STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, DURATIONA total of 42 251 women of diverse ancestry from PAGE were included in cross-sectional analyses of AM and ANM.MATERIALS, SETTING, METHODSSNPs previously associated with ANM (n = 5 SNPs) and AM (n = 3 SNPs) in GWAS were genotyped in American Indians, African Americans, Asians, European Americans, Hispanics and Native Hawaiians. To test SNP associations with ANM or AM, we used linear regression models stratified by race/ethnicity and PAGE sub-study. Results were then combined in race-specific fixed effect meta-analyses for each outcome. For replication and generalization analyses, significance was defined at P < 0.01 for ANM analyses and P < 0.017 for AM analyses.MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCEWe replicated findings for AM SNPs in the LIN28B locus and an intergenic region on 9q31 in European Americans. The LIN28B SNPs (rs314277 and rs314280) were also significantly associated with AM in Asians, but not in other race/ethnicity groups. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) patterns at this locus varied widely among the ancestral groups. With the exception of an intergenic SNP at 13q34, all ANM SNPs replicated in European Americans. Three were significantly associated with ANM in other race/ethnicity populations: rs2153157 (6p24.2/SYCP2L), rs365132 (5q35/UIMC1) and rs16991615 (20p12.3/MCM8). While rs1172822 (19q13/BRSK1) was not significant in the populations of non-European descent, effect sizes showed similar trends.LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTIONLack of association for the GWAS SNPs in the non-European American groups may be due to differences in locus LD patterns between these groups and the European-descent populations included in the GWAS discovery studies; and in some cases, lower power may also contribute to non-significant findings.WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGSThe discovery of genetic variants associated with the reproductive traits provides an important opportunity to elucidate the biological mechanisms involved with normal variation and disorders of menarche and menopause. In this study we replicated most, but not all reported SNPs in European descent populations and examined the epidemiologic architecture of these early reported variants, describing their generalizability and effect size across differing ancestral populations. Such data will be increasingly important for prioritizing GWAS SNPs for follow-up in fine-mapping and resequencing studies, as well as in translational research.

Project description:By relating hundreds of thousands of genotypes to only a few phenotypes, mostly in individuals of one ancestry, genome-wide association (GWA) studies are identifying a rapidly growing number of associations. The Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) Study is designed to further characterize the most promising variants along an epidemiological dimension that is substantial in its sample size, ethnic diversity, breadth of phenotypes, and exposures. PAGE includes scientists and population samples from large ongoing cohort studies: CALiCo (Causal Variants Across the Life Course, a consortium of ARIC, CARDIA, CHS, HCHS/SOL, Strong Heart Cohort Study, Strong Heart Family Study), EAGLE (Epidemiologic Architecture for Genes Linked to Environment, based on 3 National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys (NHANES), MEC (Multiethnic Cohort) and WHI (Women's Health Initiative), with logistical and scientific support contributed by a Coordinating Center and the NHGRI Office of Population Genomics. These studies combined include over 270,000 participants, and populations represented include Asian Americans, African Americans, European Americans, Hispanic Americans, Native Hawaiians and American Indians. Health outcomes and traits of interest are prioritized, followed by replication of trait-genotype associations and generalization of their effects across population groups and environmental contexts. The first phase of genotyping focused on 901 high-profile SNPs having replicated associations with phenotypes related to diabetes, obesity, cardiovascular disease, lipids, cancers, menopause/menarche, inflammation and autoimmunity that are being genotyped in over 121,000 participants, as available for trait-specific analyses. SNP genotyping, quality control and population-specific association analyses are performed within each cohort, followed by meta-analyses using harmonized phenotypes and standardized analytic methods. The second phase of genotyping will be done using the Metabochip. The Metabochip is a custom large-scale (~200K SNPs) Illumina chip designed for association testing of several metabolic-related phenotypes. Genotyping will be performed at each study site and centralized analysis will be managed through the coordinating center. PAGE is generating 3 types of data: tier 1 (minimally curated phenotypes and analyses, all SNPs by all available phenotypes, used for Phenome-wide association study (PheWAS analysis)), tier 2 (carefully curated analyses of phenotypes available at only one of the four PAGE sites) and tier 3 (carefully curated phenotypes for multi-site analyses, data specifically generated for manuscripts). All tiers of data are submitted to the CC, where they undergo QC prior to submission to dbGaP.

Project description:Using a phenome-wide association study (PheWAS) approach, we comprehensively tested genetic variants for association with phenotypes available for 70,061 study participants in the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) network. Our aim was to better characterize the genetic architecture of complex traits and identify novel pleiotropic relationships. This PheWAS drew on five population-based studies representing four major racial/ethnic groups (European Americans (EA), African Americans (AA), Hispanics/Mexican-Americans, and Asian/Pacific Islanders) in PAGE, each site with measurements for multiple traits, associated laboratory measures, and intermediate biomarkers. A total of 83 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were genotyped across two or more PAGE study sites. Comprehensive tests of association, stratified by race/ethnicity, were performed, encompassing 4,706 phenotypes mapped to 105 phenotype-classes, and association results were compared across study sites. A total of 111 PheWAS results had significant associations for two or more PAGE study sites with consistent direction of effect with a significance threshold of p<0.01 for the same racial/ethnic group, SNP, and phenotype-class. Among results identified for SNPs previously associated with phenotypes such as lipid traits, type 2 diabetes, and body mass index, 52 replicated previously published genotype-phenotype associations, 26 represented phenotypes closely related to previously known genotype-phenotype associations, and 33 represented potentially novel genotype-phenotype associations with pleiotropic effects. The majority of the potentially novel results were for single PheWAS phenotype-classes, for example, for CDKN2A/B rs1333049 (previously associated with type 2 diabetes in EA) a PheWAS association was identified for hemoglobin levels in AA. Of note, however, GALNT2 rs2144300 (previously associated with high-density lipoprotein cholesterol levels in EA) had multiple potentially novel PheWAS associations, with hypertension related phenotypes in AA and with serum calcium levels and coronary artery disease phenotypes in EA. PheWAS identifies associations for hypothesis generation and exploration of the genetic architecture of complex traits.

Project description:Aims/hypothesisElevated levels of fasting glucose and fasting insulin in non-diabetic individuals are markers of dysregulation of glucose metabolism and are strong risk factors for type 2 diabetes. Genome-wide association studies have discovered over 50 SNPs associated with these traits. Most of these loci were discovered in European populations and have not been tested in a well-powered multi-ethnic study. We hypothesised that a large, ancestrally diverse, fine-mapping genetic study of glycaemic traits would identify novel and population-specific associations that were previously undetectable by European-centric studies.MethodsA multiethnic study of up to 26,760 unrelated individuals without diabetes, of predominantly Hispanic/Latino and African ancestries, were genotyped using the Metabochip. Transethnic meta-analysis of racial/ethnic-specific linear regression analyses were performed for fasting glucose and fasting insulin. We attempted to replicate 39 fasting glucose and 17 fasting insulin loci. Genetic fine-mapping was performed through sequential conditional analyses in 15 regions that included both the initially reported SNP association(s) and denser coverage of SNP markers. In addition, Metabochip-wide analyses were performed to discover novel fasting glucose and fasting insulin loci. The most significant SNP associations were further examined using bioinformatic functional annotation.ResultsPreviously reported SNP associations were significantly replicated (p ≤ 0.05) in 31/39 fasting glucose loci and 14/17 fasting insulin loci. Eleven glycaemic trait loci were refined to a smaller list of potentially causal variants through transethnic meta-analysis. Stepwise conditional analysis identified two loci with independent secondary signals (G6PC2-rs477224 and GCK-rs2908290), which had not previously been reported. Population-specific conditional analyses identified an independent signal in G6PC2 tagged by the rare variant rs77719485 in African ancestry. Further Metabochip-wide analysis uncovered one novel fasting insulin locus at SLC17A2-rs75862513.Conclusions/interpretationThese findings suggest that while glycaemic trait loci often have generalisable effects across the studied populations, transethnic genetic studies help to prioritise likely functional SNPs, identify novel associations that may be population-specific and in turn have the potential to influence screening efforts or therapeutic discoveries.Data availabilityThe summary statistics from each of the ancestry-specific and transethnic (combined ancestry) results can be found under the PAGE study on dbGaP here: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/projects/gap/cgi-bin/study.cgi?study_id=phs000356.v1.p1.

Dataset Information

Minority-centric meta-analyses of blood lipid levels identify novel loci in the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) study.

Publications

Minority-centric meta-analyses of blood lipid levels identify novel loci in the Population Architecture using Genomics and Epidemiology (PAGE) study.

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