The existing large-scale genome-wide association studies (GWAS) datasets provide strong support for investigating the mechanisms of Alzheimer's disease (AD) by applying multiple methods of pathway analysis. Previous studies using selected single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) with several thresholds of nominal significance for pathway analysis determined that the threshold chosen for SNPs can reflect the disease model. Presumably, then, pathway analysis with a stringent threshold to define "associated" SNPs would test the hypothesis that highly associated SNPs are enriched in one or more particular pathways. Here, we selected 599 AD variants (P < 5.00E-08) to investigate the pathways in which these variants are enriched and the cell types in which these variants are active. Our results showed that AD variants are significantly enriched in pathways of the immune system. Further analysis indicated that AD variants are significantly enriched for enhancers in a number of cell types, in particular the B-lymphocyte, which is the most substantially enriched cell type. This cell type maintains its dominance among the strongest enhancers. AD SNPs also display significant enrichment for DNase in 12 cell types, among which the top 6 significant signals are from immune cell types, including 4 B cells (top 4 significant signals) and CD14+ and CD34+ cells. In summary, our results show that these AD variants with P < 5.00E-08 are significantly enriched in pathways of the immune system and active in immune cells. To a certain degree, the genetic predisposition for development of AD is rooted in the immune system, rather than in neuronal cells.
Showing posts with label Genome-wide association study. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Genome-wide association study. Show all posts
Whole-genome sequencing of quartet families with autism spectrum disorder : Nature Medicine : Nature Publishing Group
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is genetically heterogeneous, with evidence for hundreds of susceptibility loci. Previous microarray and exome-sequencing studies have examined portions of the genome in simplex families (parents and one ASD-affected child) having presumed sporadic forms of the disorder. We used whole-genome sequencing (WGS) of 85 quartet families (parents and two ASD-affected siblings), consisting of 170 individuals with ASD, to generate a comprehensive data resource encompassing all classes of genetic variation (including noncoding variants) and accompanying phenotypes, in apparently familial forms of ASD. By examining de novo and rare inherited single-nucleotide and structural variations in genes previously reported to be associated with ASD or other neurodevelopmental disorders, we found that some (69.4%) of the affected siblings carried different ASD-relevant mutations. These siblings with discordant mutations tended to demonstrate more clinical variability than those who shared a risk variant. Our study emphasizes that substantial genetic heterogeneity exists in ASD, necessitating the use of WGS to delineate all genic and non-genic susceptibility variants in research and in clinical diagnostics.
Combinatorial effects of multiple enhancer variants in linkage disequilibrium dictate levels of gene expression to confer susceptibility to common traits
DNA variants (SNPs) that predispose to common traits often localize within noncoding regulatory elements such as enhancers. Moreover, loci identified by genome-wide association studies (GWAS) often contain multiple SNPs in linkage disequilibrium (LD), any of which may be causal. Thus, determining the effect of these multiple variant SNPs on target transcript levels has been a major challenge. Here, we provide evidence that for six common autoimmune disorders (rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease, celiac disease, multiple sclerosis, lupus, and ulcerative colitis), the GWAS association arises from multiple polymorphisms in LD that map to clusters of enhancer elements active in the same cell type. This finding suggests a “multiple enhancer variant” hypothesis for common traits, where several variants in LD impact multiple enhancers and cooperatively affect gene expression. Using a novel method to delineate enhancer–gene interactions, we show that multiple enhancer variants within a given locus typically target the same gene. Using available data from HapMap and B lymphoblasts as a model system, we provide evidence at numerous loci that multiple enhancer variants cooperatively contribute to altered expression of their gene targets. The effects on target transcript levels tend to be modest and can be either gain- or loss-of-function. Additionally, the genes associated with multiple enhancer variants encode proteins that are often functionally related and enriched in common pathways. Overall, the multiple enhancer variant hypothesis offers a new paradigm by which noncoding variants can confer susceptibility to common traits.
Genetic Influences on Disease Remain Hidden
The quest to find genes that strongly influence whether people will develop common diseases is turning out to be even more difficult than some researchers had expected. At the annual meeting of the American Society of Human Genetics, several huge DNA sequencing studies aimed at ferreting out genetic variants behind diseases such as diabetes and heart disease reported initial findings. This work shows that a popular hypothesis in the field—that the general population carries somewhat rare variants that greatly increase or decrease a person's disease risk—is not yet panning out.
Frontiers | Whole Genome Sequences of a Male and Female Supercentenarian, Ages Greater than 114 Years | Frontiers in Genetics of Aging
Supercentenarians (age 110+ years old) generally delay or escape age-related diseases and disability well beyond the age of 100 and this exceptional survival is likely to be influenced by a genetic predisposition that includes both common and rare genetic variants. In this report, we describe the complete genomic sequences of male and female supercentenarians, both age >114 years old. We show that: (1) the sequence variant spectrum of these two individuals’ DNA sequences is largely comparable to existing non-supercentenarian genomes; (2) the two individuals do not appear to carry most of the well-established human longevity enabling variants already reported in the literature; (3) they have a comparable number of known disease-associated variants relative to most human genomes sequenced to-date; (4) approximately 1% of the variants these individuals possess are novel and may point to new genes involved in exceptional longevity; and (5) both individuals are enriched for coding variants near longevity-associated variants that we discovered through a large genome-wide association study. These analyses suggest that there are both common and rare longevity-associated variants that may counter the effects of disease-predisposing variants and extend lifespan. The continued analysis of the genomes of these and other rare individuals who have survived to extremely old ages should provide insight into the processes that contribute to the maintenance of health during extreme aging.
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