Systems genetic analysis in Diversity Outbred mice informs human bone mineral density GWAS and identifies Qsox1 as a novel determinant of bone strength
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ABSTRACT:
ORGANISM(S): Mus musculus
PROVIDER: GSE152708 | GEO | 2020/06/18
REPOSITORIES: GEO
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Project description:Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for osteoporotic traits have identified over 1000 associations; however, their impact has been limited by the difficulties of causal gene identification and a strict focus on bone mineral density (BMD). Here, we used Diversity Outbred (DO) mice to directly address these limitations by performing the first systems genetics analysis of over 50 complex skeletal phenotypes. We applied a network approach to cortical bone RNA-seq data to discover 46 genes likely to be causal for human BMD GWAS associations, including the novel genes SERTAD4 and GLT8D2. We also performed GWAS in the DO for a wide-range of bone traits and identify Qsox1 as a novel gene influencing cortical bone accrual and bone strength. Our results provide a new perspective on the genetics of osteoporosis and highlight the ability of the mouse to inform human genetics.
2020-06-20 | GSE152806 | GEO
Project description:Bone mineral density (BMD) is a strong predictor of osteoporotic fracture. It is also one of the most heritable disease-associated quantitative traits. As a result, there has been considerable effort focused on dissecting its genetic basis. Here, we performed a genome-wide association study (GWAS) in a panel of inbred strains to identify associations influencing BMD. This analysis identified a significant (P=3.1 x 10-12) BMD locus on Chromosome 3@52.5 Mbp that replicated in two seperate inbred strain panels and overlapped a BMD quantitative trait locus (QTL) previously identified in a F2 intercross. The association mapped to a 300 Kbp region containing four genes; Gm2447, Gm20750, Cog6, and Lhfp. Further analysis found that Lipoma HMGIC Fusion Partner (Lhfp) was highly expressed in bone and osteoblasts and its expression was regulated by local expression QTL (eQTL) in multiple tissues. A co-expression network analysis revealed that Lhfp was strongly connected to genes involved in osteoblast differentiation. To directly evaluate its role in bone, Lhfp deficient mice (Lhfp-/-) were created using CRISPR/Cas9. Consistent with genetic and network predictions, bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) from Lhfp-/- displayed increased osteogenic differentiation. Lfhp-/- mice also had elevated BMD due to increased cortical bone mass. In conclusion, we used GWAS and systems genetics in mice to identify Lhfp as a regulator of osteoblast activity and bone mass.
2018-10-30 | GSE121887 | GEO
Project description:Osteoporosis, characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD), is the most common complex disease affecting bone and constitutes a major societal health problem. Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have identified over 1100 associations influencing BMD. It has been shown that perturbations to long non-coding RNAs (lncRNAs) influence BMD and the activities of bone cells; however, the extent to which lncRNAs are involved in the genetic regulation of BMD is unknown. Here, we combined the analysis of allelic imbalance (AI) in human acetabular bone fragments with a transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS) and expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) colocalization analysis using data from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project to identify lncRNAs potentially responsible for GWAS associations. We identified 27 lncRNAs in bone that are located in proximity to a BMD GWAS association and harbor SNPs demonstrating AI. Using GTEx data we identified an additional 31 lncRNAs whose expression was associated (FDR correction<0.05) with BMD through TWAS and had a colocalizing eQTL (regional colocalization probability (RCP)>0.1). The 58 lncRNAs are located in 43 BMD associations. To further support a causal role for the identified lncRNAs, we show that 23 of the 58 lncRNAs are differentially expressed as a function of osteoblast differentiation. Our approach identifies lncRNAs that are potentially responsible for BMD GWAS associations and suggest that lncRNAs play a role in the genetics of osteoporosis.
2021-11-04 | GSE186922 | GEO
Project description:Significant advances have been made in the discovery of genes affecting bone mineral density (BMD); however, our understanding of its genetic basis remains incomplete. In the current study, genome-wide association (GWA) and co-expression network analysis was used in the recently described Hybrid Mouse Diversity Panel (HMDP) to identify and functionally characterize novel BMD genes. In the HMDP, a GWA of total body, spinal and femoral BMD revealed four significant associations (-log10P > 5.39) affecting at least one BMD trait on chromosomes (Chrs.) 7, 11, 12 and 17. The associations implicated a total of 163 genes with each association harboring between 14 and 112 genes. This list was reduced to 26 functional candidates by identifying those genes that were regulated by local eQTL in bone or harbored potentially functional non-synonymous (NS) SNPs. This analysis revealed that the most significant BMD SNP on Chr. 12 was a NS SNP in the additional sex combs like-2 (Asxl2) gene that was predicted to be functional. The involvement of Asxl2 in the regulation of bone mass was confirmed by the observation that Asxl2 knockout mice had reduced BMD. To begin to unravel the mechanism though which Asxl2 influenced BMD, a gene co-expression network was created using cortical bone gene expression microarray data from the HMDP strains. Asxl2 was identified as a member of a co-expression gene module enriched for genes involved in the differentiation of myeloid cells. In bone, osteoclasts are bone-resorbing cell of myeloid origin, suggesting that Asxl2 may play a role in osteoclast differentiation. In agreement, the knockdown of Asxl2 in bone marrow macrophages impaired their ability to form osteoclasts. This study identifies a new regulator of BMD and osteoclastogenesis and highlights the power of GWA and systems genetics in the mouse for dissecting complex genetic traits. RNA from cortical bone (femoral diaphysis free of marrow) were profiled from 99 Hybrid Mouse Diversity Panel strains were profiled. Sixteen-week old male mice were used in this study. A total of 1-3 mice per strain were arrayed.
2011-02-25 | E-GEOD-27483 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Genome-wide association studies (GWASs) for bone mineral density (BMD), one of the most significant predictors of osteoporotic fracture, have identified over 1100 independent associations; however, few of the causal genes have been identified. Recently, the “omnigenic” model of the genetic architecture of complex traits proposed two general categories of causal genes, core and peripheral. Core genes play a direct role in regulating traits; thus, their identification is key to revealing critical regulators and potential therapeutic targets. Here, we identified a co-expression module enriched for genes exhibiting properties consistent with core genes for BMD by analyzing GWAS data through the lens of a cell-type and timepoint-specific gene co-expression network for mineralizing osteoblasts. We identified multiple co-expression modules enriched for genes implicated by BMD GWAS and prioritized modules based on their enrichment for genes with core-like properties. Only one module, the purple module, was enriched for genes correlated with in vitro mineralization (r = 0.49; FDR = 0.012), with known roles in skeletal development (P <2.2 x 10-16), that when perturbed produce a bone phenotype in mice (OR = 4.1; P = 2.14 x 10-9), and are monogenic bone disease genes in humans (OR=21.3; P=6.94 x 10-9). Furthermore, the purple module contained genes from two distinct transcriptional profiles with regards to osteoblast differentiation, one of which, termed the late differentiation cluster (LDC), was more highly enriched for genes with core-like properties. Within the LDC, we found that the most highly connected genes were more likely to overlap a BMD GWAS association and associations that contained LDC genes overlapped enhancers and promoters in osteoblasts. Finally, we identified four LDC genes (B4GALNT3, CADM1, DOCK9, and GPR133) with colocalizing expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) and altered BMD in mouse knockouts. Our network-based approach identified a “core” module for BMD and has provided a resource for expanding our understanding of the genetics of bone mass.
2019-07-11 | GSE134081 | GEO
Project description:Significant advances have been made in the discovery of genes affecting bone mineral density (BMD); however, our understanding of its genetic basis remains incomplete. In the current study, genome-wide association (GWA) and co-expression network analysis was used in the recently described Hybrid Mouse Diversity Panel (HMDP) to identify and functionally characterize novel BMD genes. In the HMDP, a GWA of total body, spinal and femoral BMD revealed four significant associations (-log10P > 5.39) affecting at least one BMD trait on chromosomes (Chrs.) 7, 11, 12 and 17. The associations implicated a total of 163 genes with each association harboring between 14 and 112 genes. This list was reduced to 26 functional candidates by identifying those genes that were regulated by local eQTL in bone or harbored potentially functional non-synonymous (NS) SNPs. This analysis revealed that the most significant BMD SNP on Chr. 12 was a NS SNP in the additional sex combs like-2 (Asxl2) gene that was predicted to be functional. The involvement of Asxl2 in the regulation of bone mass was confirmed by the observation that Asxl2 knockout mice had reduced BMD. To begin to unravel the mechanism though which Asxl2 influenced BMD, a gene co-expression network was created using cortical bone gene expression microarray data from the HMDP strains. Asxl2 was identified as a member of a co-expression gene module enriched for genes involved in the differentiation of myeloid cells. In bone, osteoclasts are bone-resorbing cell of myeloid origin, suggesting that Asxl2 may play a role in osteoclast differentiation. In agreement, the knockdown of Asxl2 in bone marrow macrophages impaired their ability to form osteoclasts. This study identifies a new regulator of BMD and osteoclastogenesis and highlights the power of GWA and systems genetics in the mouse for dissecting complex genetic traits.
2011-02-25 | GSE27483 | GEO
Project description:Heritable epigenetic factors can contribute to complex disease etiology. In this study we examine, on a global scale, the contribution of DNA methylation to complex traits that are precursors to heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis. We profiled DNA methylation patterns in the liver using bisulfite sequencing in 90 mouse inbred strains, genome-wide expression levels, proteomics, metabolomics and sixty-eight clinical traits, and performed epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS). We found associations with numerous clinical traits including bone mineral density, plasma cholesterol, insulin resistance, gene expression, protein and metabolite levels. A large proportion of associations were unique to EWAS and were not identified using GWAS. Methylation levels were regulated by genetics largely in cis, but we also found evidence of trans regulation, and we demonstrate that genetic variation in the methionine synthase reductase gene Mtrr affects methylation of hundreds of CpGs throughout the genome. Our results indicate that natural variation in methylation levels contributes to the etiology of complex clinical traits. Reduced representation bisulfite sequencing in mouse strains using liver genomic DNA
2015-04-02 | E-GEOD-67507 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:The common genetic variants associated with complex traits typically lie in non-coding DNA and may alter gene regulation in a cell-type specific manner. Consequently, the choice of tissue or cell model in the dissection of disease associations is important. We carried out an eQTL study of primary human osteoblasts (HOb) derived from unrelated donors of Swedish origin, each represented by two independently derived primary lines to provide biological replication. We combined our data with publicly available information from a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of bone mineral density (BMD). The top BMD-associated SNPs were tested for cis-association of gene expression in HObs and in lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) using publicly available data and showed that HObs have a significantly greater enrichment of converging cis-eQTLs as compared to LCLs. The top BMD loci with SNPs showing strong cis-effects on gene expression in HObs were selected for further validation using a staged design in two cohorts of Caucasian male subjects. All variants were tested in the Swedish MrOs Cohort (n=3014), providing evidence for two novel BMD loci. These variants were then tested in the Rotterdam Study (n=2100), yielding converging evidence for BMD association at one locus. The cis-regulatory effect was further fine-mapped to the proximal promoter of the gene. Our results suggest that primary cells relevant to disease phenotypes complement traditional approaches for prioritization and validation of GWAS hits for follow-up studies.
2009-04-16 | GSE15678 | GEO
Project description:Beneficial effects of a soy diet on bone quality have been assumed to be due to the putative estrogenic actions of isoflavones. We studied the effects of soy protein isolate (SPI) on bone quality and compared these effects to 17β-estradiol (E2) in pre-pubertal rats. Female rats were weaned to a control diet with or without E2 (0.1, 1, 10 µg/kg/d), or SPI-containing diet with or without E2 (10 µg/kg/d) for 14 days beginning on postnatal day 20. In long bones from SPI-fed rats, only cancellous bone mineral density (BMD) was increased (p<0.05), while cortical BMD was decreased accompanied by lower bone strength compared to control casein-fed rats (p<0.05). In sharp contrast, 10 µg/kg/d E2 not only increased trabecular BMD, but also cortical BMD compared to controls. Rats treated with the combination of SPI and E2 had an intermediate bone effect. SPI increased while E2 decreased bone turnover, and increased trabecular BMD by both E2 and SPI was associated with decreased serum sclerostin levels. Microarray analysis revealed 652 genes regulated by SPI diet, 491 genes regulated by E2, and 266 genes regulated in common by both SPI diet and E2 compared to rats fed casein. The expression of caveolin-1, a protein localized in cell membrane, was down-regulated (p<0.05) in rats fed SPI, but not by E2 compared to rats fed casein. Down-regulated caveolin-1 by SPI was associated with increased BMP2, Smad and Runx2 expression in bone and osteoblasts (p<0.05). These results suggest SPI consumption results in significant non-classical estrogenic stimulation of cancellous bone formation prior to puberty, but may have adverse effects on overall bone quality and strength at this developmental stage as a result of reduced cortical bone formation. The study was designed to compare expression of bone development associated genes between soy protein isolate fed and estrogen treated pre pubertal female rats. Therefore, total RNA was isolated from bone from rats fed with control casein diet, SPI diet, 17 beta estrodial treated and SPI diet plus 17 beta estrodial.
2012-07-14 | E-GEOD-30862 | biostudies-arrayexpress
Project description:Heritable epigenetic factors can contribute to complex disease etiology. In this study we examine, on a global scale, the contribution of DNA methylation to complex traits that are precursors to heart disease, diabetes and osteoporosis. We profiled DNA methylation patterns in the liver using bisulfite sequencing in 90 mouse inbred strains, genome-wide expression levels, proteomics, metabolomics and sixty-eight clinical traits, and performed epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS). We found associations with numerous clinical traits including bone mineral density, plasma cholesterol, insulin resistance, gene expression, protein and metabolite levels. A large proportion of associations were unique to EWAS and were not identified using GWAS. Methylation levels were regulated by genetics largely in cis, but we also found evidence of trans regulation, and we demonstrate that genetic variation in the methionine synthase reductase gene Mtrr affects methylation of hundreds of CpGs throughout the genome. Our results indicate that natural variation in methylation levels contributes to the etiology of complex clinical traits.
2015-04-02 | GSE67507 | GEO