TY - JOUR T1 - DNA methylation signatures of chronic low-grade inflammation are associated with complex diseases. JF - Genome Biol Y1 - 2016 A1 - Ligthart, Symen A1 - Marzi, Carola A1 - Aslibekyan, Stella A1 - Mendelson, Michael M A1 - Conneely, Karen N A1 - Tanaka, Toshiko A1 - Colicino, Elena A1 - Waite, Lindsay L A1 - Joehanes, Roby A1 - Guan, Weihua A1 - Brody, Jennifer A A1 - Elks, Cathy A1 - Marioni, Riccardo A1 - Jhun, Min A A1 - Agha, Golareh A1 - Bressler, Jan A1 - Ward-Caviness, Cavin K A1 - Chen, Brian H A1 - Huan, Tianxiao A1 - Bakulski, Kelly A1 - Salfati, Elias L A1 - Fiorito, Giovanni A1 - Wahl, Simone A1 - Schramm, Katharina A1 - Sha, Jin A1 - Hernandez, Dena G A1 - Just, Allan C A1 - Smith, Jennifer A A1 - Sotoodehnia, Nona A1 - Pilling, Luke C A1 - Pankow, James S A1 - Tsao, Phil S A1 - Liu, Chunyu A1 - Zhao, Wei A1 - Guarrera, Simonetta A1 - Michopoulos, Vasiliki J A1 - Smith, Alicia K A1 - Peters, Marjolein J A1 - Melzer, David A1 - Vokonas, Pantel A1 - Fornage, Myriam A1 - Prokisch, Holger A1 - Bis, Joshua C A1 - Chu, Audrey Y A1 - Herder, Christian A1 - Grallert, Harald A1 - Yao, Chen A1 - Shah, Sonia A1 - McRae, Allan F A1 - Lin, Honghuang A1 - Horvath, Steve A1 - Fallin, Daniele A1 - Hofman, Albert A1 - Wareham, Nicholas J A1 - Wiggins, Kerri L A1 - Feinberg, Andrew P A1 - Starr, John M A1 - Visscher, Peter M A1 - Murabito, Joanne M A1 - Kardia, Sharon L R A1 - Absher, Devin M A1 - Binder, Elisabeth B A1 - Singleton, Andrew B A1 - Bandinelli, Stefania A1 - Peters, Annette A1 - Waldenberger, Melanie A1 - Matullo, Giuseppe A1 - Schwartz, Joel D A1 - Demerath, Ellen W A1 - Uitterlinden, André G A1 - van Meurs, Joyce B J A1 - Franco, Oscar H A1 - Chen, Yii-Der Ida A1 - Levy, Daniel A1 - Turner, Stephen T A1 - Deary, Ian J A1 - Ressler, Kerry J A1 - Dupuis, Josée A1 - Ferrucci, Luigi A1 - Ong, Ken K A1 - Assimes, Themistocles L A1 - Boerwinkle, Eric A1 - Koenig, Wolfgang A1 - Arnett, Donna K A1 - Baccarelli, Andrea A A1 - Benjamin, Emelia J A1 - Dehghan, Abbas AB -

BACKGROUND: Chronic low-grade inflammation reflects a subclinical immune response implicated in the pathogenesis of complex diseases. Identifying genetic loci where DNA methylation is associated with chronic low-grade inflammation may reveal novel pathways or therapeutic targets for inflammation.

RESULTS: We performed a meta-analysis of epigenome-wide association studies (EWAS) of serum C-reactive protein (CRP), which is a sensitive marker of low-grade inflammation, in a large European population (n = 8863) and trans-ethnic replication in African Americans (n = 4111). We found differential methylation at 218 CpG sites to be associated with CRP (P < 1.15 × 10(-7)) in the discovery panel of European ancestry and replicated (P < 2.29 × 10(-4)) 58 CpG sites (45 unique loci) among African Americans. To further characterize the molecular and clinical relevance of the findings, we examined the association with gene expression, genetic sequence variants, and clinical outcomes. DNA methylation at nine (16%) CpG sites was associated with whole blood gene expression in cis (P < 8.47 × 10(-5)), ten (17%) CpG sites were associated with a nearby genetic variant (P < 2.50 × 10(-3)), and 51 (88%) were also associated with at least one related cardiometabolic entity (P < 9.58 × 10(-5)). An additive weighted score of replicated CpG sites accounted for up to 6% inter-individual variation (R2) of age-adjusted and sex-adjusted CRP, independent of known CRP-related genetic variants.

CONCLUSION: We have completed an EWAS of chronic low-grade inflammation and identified many novel genetic loci underlying inflammation that may serve as targets for the development of novel therapeutic interventions for inflammation.

VL - 17 IS - 1 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - A meta-analysis of 120 246 individuals identifies 18 new loci for fibrinogen concentration. JF - Hum Mol Genet Y1 - 2016 A1 - de Vries, Paul S A1 - Chasman, Daniel I A1 - Sabater-Lleal, Maria A1 - Chen, Ming-Huei A1 - Huffman, Jennifer E A1 - Steri, Maristella A1 - Tang, Weihong A1 - Teumer, Alexander A1 - Marioni, Riccardo E A1 - Grossmann, Vera A1 - Hottenga, Jouke J A1 - Trompet, Stella A1 - Müller-Nurasyid, Martina A1 - Zhao, Jing Hua A1 - Brody, Jennifer A A1 - Kleber, Marcus E A1 - Guo, Xiuqing A1 - Wang, Jie Jin A1 - Auer, Paul L A1 - Attia, John R A1 - Yanek, Lisa R A1 - Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S A1 - Lahti, Jari A1 - Venturini, Cristina A1 - Tanaka, Toshiko A1 - Bielak, Lawrence F A1 - Joshi, Peter K A1 - Rocanin-Arjo, Ares A1 - Kolcic, Ivana A1 - Navarro, Pau A1 - Rose, Lynda M A1 - Oldmeadow, Christopher A1 - Riess, Helene A1 - Mazur, Johanna A1 - Basu, Saonli A1 - Goel, Anuj A1 - Yang, Qiong A1 - Ghanbari, Mohsen A1 - Willemsen, Gonneke A1 - Rumley, Ann A1 - Fiorillo, Edoardo A1 - de Craen, Anton J M A1 - Grotevendt, Anne A1 - Scott, Robert A1 - Taylor, Kent D A1 - Delgado, Graciela E A1 - Yao, Jie A1 - Kifley, Annette A1 - Kooperberg, Charles A1 - Qayyum, Rehan A1 - Lopez, Lorna M A1 - Berentzen, Tina L A1 - Räikkönen, Katri A1 - Mangino, Massimo A1 - Bandinelli, Stefania A1 - Peyser, Patricia A A1 - Wild, Sarah A1 - Trégouët, David-Alexandre A1 - Wright, Alan F A1 - Marten, Jonathan A1 - Zemunik, Tatijana A1 - Morrison, Alanna C A1 - Sennblad, Bengt A1 - Tofler, Geoffrey A1 - de Maat, Moniek P M A1 - de Geus, Eco J C A1 - Lowe, Gordon D A1 - Zoledziewska, Magdalena A1 - Sattar, Naveed A1 - Binder, Harald A1 - Völker, Uwe A1 - Waldenberger, Melanie A1 - Khaw, Kay-Tee A1 - McKnight, Barbara A1 - Huang, Jie A1 - Jenny, Nancy S A1 - Holliday, Elizabeth G A1 - Qi, Lihong A1 - Mcevoy, Mark G A1 - Becker, Diane M A1 - Starr, John M A1 - Sarin, Antti-Pekka A1 - Hysi, Pirro G A1 - Hernandez, Dena G A1 - Jhun, Min A A1 - Campbell, Harry A1 - Hamsten, Anders A1 - Rivadeneira, Fernando A1 - McArdle, Wendy L A1 - Slagboom, P Eline A1 - Zeller, Tanja A1 - Koenig, Wolfgang A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Haritunians, Talin A1 - Liu, Jingmin A1 - Palotie, Aarno A1 - Uitterlinden, André G A1 - Stott, David J A1 - Hofman, Albert A1 - Franco, Oscar H A1 - Polasek, Ozren A1 - Rudan, Igor A1 - Morange, Pierre-Emmanuel A1 - Wilson, James F A1 - Kardia, Sharon L R A1 - Ferrucci, Luigi A1 - Spector, Tim D A1 - Eriksson, Johan G A1 - Hansen, Torben A1 - Deary, Ian J A1 - Becker, Lewis C A1 - Scott, Rodney J A1 - Mitchell, Paul A1 - März, Winfried A1 - Wareham, Nick J A1 - Peters, Annette A1 - Greinacher, Andreas A1 - Wild, Philipp S A1 - Jukema, J Wouter A1 - Boomsma, Dorret I A1 - Hayward, Caroline A1 - Cucca, Francesco A1 - Tracy, Russell A1 - Watkins, Hugh A1 - Reiner, Alex P A1 - Folsom, Aaron R A1 - Ridker, Paul M A1 - O'Donnell, Christopher J A1 - Smith, Nicholas L A1 - Strachan, David P A1 - Dehghan, Abbas AB -

Genome-wide association studies have previously identified 23 genetic loci associated with circulating fibrinogen concentration. These studies used HapMap imputation and did not examine the X-chromosome. 1000 Genomes imputation provides better coverage of uncommon variants, and includes indels. We conducted a genome-wide association analysis of 34 studies imputed to the 1000 Genomes Project reference panel and including ∼120 000 participants of European ancestry (95 806 participants with data on the X-chromosome). Approximately 10.7 million single-nucleotide polymorphisms and 1.2 million indels were examined. We identified 41 genome-wide significant fibrinogen loci; of which, 18 were newly identified. There were no genome-wide significant signals on the X-chromosome. The lead variants of five significant loci were indels. We further identified six additional independent signals, including three rare variants, at two previously characterized loci: FGB and IRF1. Together the 41 loci explain 3% of the variance in plasma fibrinogen concentration.

VL - 25 IS - 2 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26561523?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Multiethnic Exome-Wide Association Study of Subclinical Atherosclerosis. JF - Circ Cardiovasc Genet Y1 - 2016 A1 - Natarajan, Pradeep A1 - Bis, Joshua C A1 - Bielak, Lawrence F A1 - Cox, Amanda J A1 - Dörr, Marcus A1 - Feitosa, Mary F A1 - Franceschini, Nora A1 - Guo, Xiuqing A1 - Hwang, Shih-Jen A1 - Isaacs, Aaron A1 - Jhun, Min A A1 - Kavousi, Maryam A1 - Li-Gao, Ruifang A1 - Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka A1 - Marioni, Riccardo E A1 - Schminke, Ulf A1 - Stitziel, Nathan O A1 - Tada, Hayato A1 - van Setten, Jessica A1 - Smith, Albert V A1 - Vojinovic, Dina A1 - Yanek, Lisa R A1 - Yao, Jie A1 - Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M A1 - Amin, Najaf A1 - Baber, Usman A1 - Borecki, Ingrid B A1 - Carr, J Jeffrey A1 - Chen, Yii-Der Ida A1 - Cupples, L Adrienne A1 - de Jong, Pim A A1 - de Koning, Harry A1 - de Vos, Bob D A1 - Demirkan, Ayse A1 - Fuster, Valentin A1 - Franco, Oscar H A1 - Goodarzi, Mark O A1 - Harris, Tamara B A1 - Heckbert, Susan R A1 - Heiss, Gerardo A1 - Hoffmann, Udo A1 - Hofman, Albert A1 - Išgum, Ivana A1 - Jukema, J Wouter A1 - Kähönen, Mika A1 - Kardia, Sharon L R A1 - Kral, Brian G A1 - Launer, Lenore J A1 - Massaro, Joseph A1 - Mehran, Roxana A1 - Mitchell, Braxton D A1 - Mosley, Thomas H A1 - de Mutsert, Renée A1 - Newman, Anne B A1 - Nguyen, Khanh-Dung A1 - North, Kari E A1 - O'Connell, Jeffrey R A1 - Oudkerk, Matthijs A1 - Pankow, James S A1 - Peloso, Gina M A1 - Post, Wendy A1 - Province, Michael A A1 - Raffield, Laura M A1 - Raitakari, Olli T A1 - Reilly, Dermot F A1 - Rivadeneira, Fernando A1 - Rosendaal, Frits A1 - Sartori, Samantha A1 - Taylor, Kent D A1 - Teumer, Alexander A1 - Trompet, Stella A1 - Turner, Stephen T A1 - Uitterlinden, André G A1 - Vaidya, Dhananjay A1 - van der Lugt, Aad A1 - Völker, Uwe A1 - Wardlaw, Joanna M A1 - Wassel, Christina L A1 - Weiss, Stefan A1 - Wojczynski, Mary K A1 - Becker, Diane M A1 - Becker, Lewis C A1 - Boerwinkle, Eric A1 - Bowden, Donald W A1 - Deary, Ian J A1 - Dehghan, Abbas A1 - Felix, Stephan B A1 - Gudnason, Vilmundur A1 - Lehtimäki, Terho A1 - Mathias, Rasika A1 - Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Rader, Daniel J A1 - Rotter, Jerome I A1 - Wilson, James G A1 - van Duijn, Cornelia M A1 - Völzke, Henry A1 - Kathiresan, Sekar A1 - Peyser, Patricia A A1 - O'Donnell, Christopher J AB -

BACKGROUND: -The burden of subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic individuals is heritable and associated with elevated risk of developing clinical coronary heart disease (CHD). We sought to identify genetic variants in protein-coding regions associated with subclinical atherosclerosis and the risk of subsequent CHD.

METHODS AND RESULTS: -We studied a total of 25,109 European ancestry and African-American participants with coronary artery calcification (CAC) measured by cardiac computed tomography and 52,869 with common carotid intima media thickness (CIMT) measured by ultrasonography within the Cohorts for Heart and Aging Research in Genomic Epidemiology (CHARGE) Consortium. Participants were genotyped for 247,870 DNA sequence variants (231,539 in exons) across the genome. A meta-analysis of exome-wide association studies was performed across cohorts for CAC and CIMT. APOB p.Arg3527Gln was associated with four-fold excess CAC (P = 3×10(-10)). The APOE ε2 allele (p.Arg176Cys) was associated with both 22.3% reduced CAC (P = 1×10(-12)) and 1.4% reduced CIMT (P = 4×10(-14)) in carriers compared with non-carriers. In secondary analyses conditioning on LDL cholesterol concentration, the ε2 protective association with CAC, although attenuated, remained strongly significant. Additionally, the presence of ε2 was associated with reduced risk for CHD (OR 0.77; P = 1×10(-11)).

CONCLUSIONS: -Exome-wide association meta-analysis demonstrates that protein-coding variants in APOB and APOE associate with subclinical atherosclerosis. APOE ε2 represents the first significant association for multiple subclinical atherosclerosis traits across multiple ethnicities as well as clinical CHD.

ER - TY - JOUR T1 - SOS2 and ACP1 Loci Identified through Large-Scale Exome Chip Analysis Regulate Kidney Development and Function. JF - J Am Soc Nephrol Y1 - 2016 A1 - Li, Man A1 - Li, Yong A1 - Weeks, Olivia A1 - Mijatovic, Vladan A1 - Teumer, Alexander A1 - Huffman, Jennifer E A1 - Tromp, Gerard A1 - Fuchsberger, Christian A1 - Gorski, Mathias A1 - Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka A1 - Nutile, Teresa A1 - Sedaghat, Sanaz A1 - Sorice, Rossella A1 - Tin, Adrienne A1 - Yang, Qiong A1 - Ahluwalia, Tarunveer S A1 - Arking, Dan E A1 - Bihlmeyer, Nathan A A1 - Böger, Carsten A A1 - Carroll, Robert J A1 - Chasman, Daniel I A1 - Cornelis, Marilyn C A1 - Dehghan, Abbas A1 - Faul, Jessica D A1 - Feitosa, Mary F A1 - Gambaro, Giovanni A1 - Gasparini, Paolo A1 - Giulianini, Franco A1 - Heid, Iris A1 - Huang, Jinyan A1 - Imboden, Medea A1 - Jackson, Anne U A1 - Jeff, Janina A1 - Jhun, Min A A1 - Katz, Ronit A1 - Kifley, Annette A1 - Kilpeläinen, Tuomas O A1 - Kumar, Ashish A1 - Laakso, Markku A1 - Li-Gao, Ruifang A1 - Lohman, Kurt A1 - Lu, Yingchang A1 - Mägi, Reedik A1 - Malerba, Giovanni A1 - Mihailov, Evelin A1 - Mohlke, Karen L A1 - Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O A1 - Robino, Antonietta A1 - Ruderfer, Douglas A1 - Salvi, Erika A1 - Schick, Ursula M A1 - Schulz, Christina-Alexandra A1 - Smith, Albert V A1 - Smith, Jennifer A A1 - Traglia, Michela A1 - Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M A1 - Zhao, Wei A1 - Goodarzi, Mark O A1 - Kraja, Aldi T A1 - Liu, Chunyu A1 - Wessel, Jennifer A1 - Boerwinkle, Eric A1 - Borecki, Ingrid B A1 - Bork-Jensen, Jette A1 - Bottinger, Erwin P A1 - Braga, Daniele A1 - Brandslund, Ivan A1 - Brody, Jennifer A A1 - Campbell, Archie A1 - Carey, David J A1 - Christensen, Cramer A1 - Coresh, Josef A1 - Crook, Errol A1 - Curhan, Gary C A1 - Cusi, Daniele A1 - de Boer, Ian H A1 - de Vries, Aiko P J A1 - Denny, Joshua C A1 - Devuyst, Olivier A1 - Dreisbach, Albert W A1 - Endlich, Karlhans A1 - Esko, Tõnu A1 - Franco, Oscar H A1 - Fulop, Tibor A1 - Gerhard, Glenn S A1 - Glümer, Charlotte A1 - Gottesman, Omri A1 - Grarup, Niels A1 - Gudnason, Vilmundur A1 - Harris, Tamara B A1 - Hayward, Caroline A1 - Hocking, Lynne A1 - Hofman, Albert A1 - Hu, Frank B A1 - Husemoen, Lise Lotte N A1 - Jackson, Rebecca D A1 - Jørgensen, Torben A1 - Jørgensen, Marit E A1 - Kähönen, Mika A1 - Kardia, Sharon L R A1 - König, Wolfgang A1 - Kooperberg, Charles A1 - Kriebel, Jennifer A1 - Launer, Lenore J A1 - Lauritzen, Torsten A1 - Lehtimäki, Terho A1 - Levy, Daniel A1 - Linksted, Pamela A1 - Linneberg, Allan A1 - Liu, Yongmei A1 - Loos, Ruth J F A1 - Lupo, Antonio A1 - Meisinger, Christine A1 - Melander, Olle A1 - Metspalu, Andres A1 - Mitchell, Paul A1 - Nauck, Matthias A1 - Nürnberg, Peter A1 - Orho-Melander, Marju A1 - Parsa, Afshin A1 - Pedersen, Oluf A1 - Peters, Annette A1 - Peters, Ulrike A1 - Polasek, Ozren A1 - Porteous, David A1 - Probst-Hensch, Nicole M A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Qi, Lu A1 - Raitakari, Olli T A1 - Reiner, Alex P A1 - Rettig, Rainer A1 - Ridker, Paul M A1 - Rivadeneira, Fernando A1 - Rossouw, Jacques E A1 - Schmidt, Frank A1 - Siscovick, David A1 - Soranzo, Nicole A1 - Strauch, Konstantin A1 - Toniolo, Daniela A1 - Turner, Stephen T A1 - Uitterlinden, André G A1 - Ulivi, Sheila A1 - Velayutham, Dinesh A1 - Völker, Uwe A1 - Völzke, Henry A1 - Waldenberger, Melanie A1 - Wang, Jie Jin A1 - Weir, David R A1 - Witte, Daniel A1 - Kuivaniemi, Helena A1 - Fox, Caroline S A1 - Franceschini, Nora A1 - Goessling, Wolfram A1 - Köttgen, Anna A1 - Chu, Audrey Y AB -

Genome-wide association studies have identified >50 common variants associated with kidney function, but these variants do not fully explain the variation in eGFR. We performed a two-stage meta-analysis of associations between genotypes from the Illumina exome array and eGFR on the basis of serum creatinine (eGFRcrea) among participants of European ancestry from the CKDGen Consortium (nStage1: 111,666; nStage2: 48,343). In single-variant analyses, we identified single nucleotide polymorphisms at seven new loci associated with eGFRcrea (PPM1J, EDEM3, ACP1, SPEG, EYA4, CYP1A1, and ATXN2L; PStage1<3.7×10(-7)), of which most were common and annotated as nonsynonymous variants. Gene-based analysis identified associations of functional rare variants in three genes with eGFRcrea, including a novel association with the SOS Ras/Rho guanine nucleotide exchange factor 2 gene, SOS2 (P=5.4×10(-8) by sequence kernel association test). Experimental follow-up in zebrafish embryos revealed changes in glomerular gene expression and renal tubule morphology in the embryonic kidney of acp1- and sos2-knockdowns. These developmental abnormalities associated with altered blood clearance rate and heightened prevalence of edema. This study expands the number of loci associated with kidney function and identifies novel genes with potential roles in kidney formation.

ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Trans-ethnic Meta-analysis and Functional Annotation Illuminates the Genetic Architecture of Fasting Glucose and Insulin. JF - Am J Hum Genet Y1 - 2016 A1 - Liu, Ching-Ti A1 - Raghavan, Sridharan A1 - Maruthur, Nisa A1 - Kabagambe, Edmond Kato A1 - Hong, Jaeyoung A1 - Ng, Maggie C Y A1 - Hivert, Marie-France A1 - Lu, Yingchang A1 - An, Ping A1 - Bentley, Amy R A1 - Drolet, Anne M A1 - Gaulton, Kyle J A1 - Guo, Xiuqing A1 - Armstrong, Loren L A1 - Irvin, Marguerite R A1 - Li, Man A1 - Lipovich, Leonard A1 - Rybin, Denis V A1 - Taylor, Kent D A1 - Agyemang, Charles A1 - Palmer, Nicholette D A1 - Cade, Brian E A1 - Chen, Wei-Min A1 - Dauriz, Marco A1 - Delaney, Joseph A C A1 - Edwards, Todd L A1 - Evans, Daniel S A1 - Evans, Michele K A1 - Lange, Leslie A A1 - Leong, Aaron A1 - Liu, Jingmin A1 - Liu, Yongmei A1 - Nayak, Uma A1 - Patel, Sanjay R A1 - Porneala, Bianca C A1 - Rasmussen-Torvik, Laura J A1 - Snijder, Marieke B A1 - Stallings, Sarah C A1 - Tanaka, Toshiko A1 - Yanek, Lisa R A1 - Zhao, Wei A1 - Becker, Diane M A1 - Bielak, Lawrence F A1 - Biggs, Mary L A1 - Bottinger, Erwin P A1 - Bowden, Donald W A1 - Chen, Guanjie A1 - Correa, Adolfo A1 - Couper, David J A1 - Crawford, Dana C A1 - Cushman, Mary A1 - Eicher, John D A1 - Fornage, Myriam A1 - Franceschini, Nora A1 - Fu, Yi-Ping A1 - Goodarzi, Mark O A1 - Gottesman, Omri A1 - Hara, Kazuo A1 - Harris, Tamara B A1 - Jensen, Richard A A1 - Johnson, Andrew D A1 - Jhun, Min A A1 - Karter, Andrew J A1 - Keller, Margaux F A1 - Kho, Abel N A1 - Kizer, Jorge R A1 - Krauss, Ronald M A1 - Langefeld, Carl D A1 - Li, Xiaohui A1 - Liang, Jingling A1 - Liu, Simin A1 - Lowe, William L A1 - Mosley, Thomas H A1 - North, Kari E A1 - Pacheco, Jennifer A A1 - Peyser, Patricia A A1 - Patrick, Alan L A1 - Rice, Kenneth M A1 - Selvin, Elizabeth A1 - Sims, Mario A1 - Smith, Jennifer A A1 - Tajuddin, Salman M A1 - Vaidya, Dhananjay A1 - Wren, Mary P A1 - Yao, Jie A1 - Zhu, Xiaofeng A1 - Ziegler, Julie T A1 - Zmuda, Joseph M A1 - Zonderman, Alan B A1 - Zwinderman, Aeilko H A1 - Adeyemo, Adebowale A1 - Boerwinkle, Eric A1 - Ferrucci, Luigi A1 - Hayes, M Geoffrey A1 - Kardia, Sharon L R A1 - Miljkovic, Iva A1 - Pankow, James S A1 - Rotimi, Charles N A1 - Sale, Michèle M A1 - Wagenknecht, Lynne E A1 - Arnett, Donna K A1 - Chen, Yii-Der Ida A1 - Nalls, Michael A A1 - Province, Michael A A1 - Kao, W H Linda A1 - Siscovick, David S A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Wilson, James G A1 - Loos, Ruth J F A1 - Dupuis, Josée A1 - Rich, Stephen S A1 - Florez, Jose C A1 - Rotter, Jerome I A1 - Morris, Andrew P A1 - Meigs, James B AB -

Knowledge of the genetic basis of the type 2 diabetes (T2D)-related quantitative traits fasting glucose (FG) and insulin (FI) in African ancestry (AA) individuals has been limited. In non-diabetic subjects of AA (n = 20,209) and European ancestry (EA; n = 57,292), we performed trans-ethnic (AA+EA) fine-mapping of 54 established EA FG or FI loci with detailed functional annotation, assessed their relevance in AA individuals, and sought previously undescribed loci through trans-ethnic (AA+EA) meta-analysis. We narrowed credible sets of variants driving association signals for 22/54 EA-associated loci; 18/22 credible sets overlapped with active islet-specific enhancers or transcription factor (TF) binding sites, and 21/22 contained at least one TF motif. Of the 54 EA-associated loci, 23 were shared between EA and AA. Replication with an additional 10,096 AA individuals identified two previously undescribed FI loci, chrX FAM133A (rs213676) and chr5 PELO (rs6450057). Trans-ethnic analyses with regulatory annotation illuminate the genetic architecture of glycemic traits and suggest gene regulation as a target to advance precision medicine for T2D. Our approach to utilize state-of-the-art functional annotation and implement trans-ethnic association analysis for discovery and fine-mapping offers a framework for further follow-up and characterization of GWAS signals of complex trait loci.

VL - 99 IS - 1 U1 - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27321945?dopt=Abstract ER - TY - JOUR T1 - DNA Methylation Analysis Identifies Loci for Blood Pressure Regulation. JF - Am J Hum Genet Y1 - 2017 A1 - Richard, Melissa A A1 - Huan, Tianxiao A1 - Ligthart, Symen A1 - Gondalia, Rahul A1 - Jhun, Min A A1 - Brody, Jennifer A A1 - Irvin, Marguerite R A1 - Marioni, Riccardo A1 - Shen, Jincheng A1 - Tsai, Pei-Chien A1 - Montasser, May E A1 - Jia, Yucheng A1 - Syme, Catriona A1 - Salfati, Elias L A1 - Boerwinkle, Eric A1 - Guan, Weihua A1 - Mosley, Thomas H A1 - Bressler, Jan A1 - Morrison, Alanna C A1 - Liu, Chunyu A1 - Mendelson, Michael M A1 - Uitterlinden, André G A1 - van Meurs, Joyce B A1 - Franco, Oscar H A1 - Zhang, Guosheng A1 - Li, Yun A1 - Stewart, James D A1 - Bis, Joshua C A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Chen, Yii-Der Ida A1 - Kardia, Sharon L R A1 - Zhao, Wei A1 - Turner, Stephen T A1 - Absher, Devin A1 - Aslibekyan, Stella A1 - Starr, John M A1 - McRae, Allan F A1 - Hou, Lifang A1 - Just, Allan C A1 - Schwartz, Joel D A1 - Vokonas, Pantel S A1 - Menni, Cristina A1 - Spector, Tim D A1 - Shuldiner, Alan A1 - Damcott, Coleen M A1 - Rotter, Jerome I A1 - Palmas, Walter A1 - Liu, Yongmei A1 - Paus, Tomáš A1 - Horvath, Steve A1 - O'Connell, Jeffrey R A1 - Guo, Xiuqing A1 - Pausova, Zdenka A1 - Assimes, Themistocles L A1 - Sotoodehnia, Nona A1 - Smith, Jennifer A A1 - Arnett, Donna K A1 - Deary, Ian J A1 - Baccarelli, Andrea A A1 - Bell, Jordana T A1 - Whitsel, Eric A1 - Dehghan, Abbas A1 - Levy, Daniel A1 - Fornage, Myriam KW - Aged KW - Blood Pressure KW - CpG Islands KW - Cross-Sectional Studies KW - DNA Methylation KW - Epigenesis, Genetic KW - Genetic Variation KW - Genome-Wide Association Study KW - Humans KW - Mendelian Randomization Analysis KW - Middle Aged KW - Nerve Tissue Proteins KW - Quantitative Trait Loci KW - Tetraspanins AB -

Genome-wide association studies have identified hundreds of genetic variants associated with blood pressure (BP), but sequence variation accounts for a small fraction of the phenotypic variance. Epigenetic changes may alter the expression of genes involved in BP regulation and explain part of the missing heritability. We therefore conducted a two-stage meta-analysis of the cross-sectional associations of systolic and diastolic BP with blood-derived genome-wide DNA methylation measured on the Infinium HumanMethylation450 BeadChip in 17,010 individuals of European, African American, and Hispanic ancestry. Of 31 discovery-stage cytosine-phosphate-guanine (CpG) dinucleotides, 13 replicated after Bonferroni correction (discovery: N = 9,828, p < 1.0 × 10-7; replication: N = 7,182, p < 1.6 × 10-3). The replicated methylation sites are heritable (h2 > 30%) and independent of known BP genetic variants, explaining an additional 1.4% and 2.0% of the interindividual variation in systolic and diastolic BP, respectively. Bidirectional Mendelian randomization among up to 4,513 individuals of European ancestry from 4 cohorts suggested that methylation at cg08035323 (TAF1B-YWHAQ) influences BP, while BP influences methylation at cg00533891 (ZMIZ1), cg00574958 (CPT1A), and cg02711608 (SLC1A5). Gene expression analyses further identified six genes (TSPAN2, SLC7A11, UNC93B1, CPT1A, PTMS, and LPCAT3) with evidence of triangular associations between methylation, gene expression, and BP. Additional integrative Mendelian randomization analyses of gene expression and DNA methylation suggested that the expression of TSPAN2 is a putative mediator of association between DNA methylation at cg23999170 and BP. These findings suggest that heritable DNA methylation plays a role in regulating BP independently of previously known genetic variants.

VL - 101 IS - 6 ER - TY - JOUR T1 - DNA methylation age is associated with an altered hemostatic profile in a multi-ethnic meta-analysis. JF - Blood Y1 - 2018 A1 - Ward-Caviness, Cavin K A1 - Huffman, Jennifer E A1 - Evertt, Karl A1 - Germain, Marine A1 - van Dongen, Jenny A1 - Hill, W David A1 - Jhun, Min A A1 - Brody, Jennifer A A1 - Ghanbari, Mohsen A1 - Du, Lei A1 - Roetker, Nicholas S A1 - de Vries, Paul S A1 - Waldenberger, Melanie A1 - Gieger, Christian A1 - Wolf, Petra A1 - Prokisch, Holger A1 - Koenig, Wolfgang A1 - O'Donnell, Christopher J A1 - Levy, Daniel A1 - Liu, Chunyu A1 - Truong, Vinh A1 - Wells, Philip S A1 - Trégouët, David-Alexandre A1 - Tang, Weihong A1 - Morrison, Alanna C A1 - Boerwinkle, Eric A1 - Wiggins, Kerri L A1 - McKnight, Barbara A1 - Guo, Xiuqing A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Sotoodenia, Nona A1 - Boomsa, Dorret I A1 - Willemsen, Gonneke A1 - Ligthart, Lannie A1 - Deary, Ian J A1 - Zhao, Wei A1 - Ware, Erin B A1 - Kardia, Sharon L R A1 - van Meurs, Joyce B J A1 - Uitterlinden, André G A1 - Franco, Oscar H A1 - Eriksson, Per A1 - Franco-Cereceda, Anders A1 - Pankow, James S A1 - Johnson, Andrew D A1 - Gagnon, France A1 - Morange, Pierre-Emmanuel A1 - de Geus, Eco J C A1 - Starr, John M A1 - Smith, Jennifer A A1 - Dehghan, Abbas A1 - Björck, Hanna M A1 - Smith, Nicholas L A1 - Peters, Annette AB -

Many hemostatic factors are associated with age and age-related diseases, however much remains unknown about the biological mechanisms linking aging and hemostatic factors. DNA methylation is a novel means by which to assess epigenetic aging, which is a measure of age and the aging processes as determined by altered epigenetic states. We used a meta-analysis approach to examine the association between measures of epigenetic aging and hemostatic factors, as well as a clotting time measure. For fibrinogen, we used European and African-ancestry participants who were meta-analyzed separately and combined via a random effects meta-analysis. All other measures only included participants of European-ancestry. We found that 1-year higher extrinsic epigenetic age as compared to chronological age was associated with higher fibrinogen (0.004 g/L per year; 95% CI: 0.001, 0.007; P = 0.01) and plasminogen activator inhibitor 1 (PAI-1; 0.13 U/mL per year; 95% CI: 0.07, 0.20; P = 6.6x10-5) concentrations as well as lower activated partial thromboplastin time, a measure of clotting time. We replicated PAI-1 associations using an independent cohort. To further elucidate potential functional mechanisms we associated epigenetic aging with expression levels of the PAI-1 protein encoding gene (SERPINE1) and the three fibrinogen subunit-encoding genes (FGA, FGG, and FGB), in both peripheral blood and aorta intima-media samples. We observed associations between accelerated epigenetic aging and transcription of FGG in both tissues. Collectively, our results indicate that accelerated epigenetic aging is associated with a pro-coagulation hemostatic profile, and that epigenetic aging may regulate hemostasis in part via gene transcription.

ER - TY - JOUR T1 - Epigenetic and integrative cross-omics analyses of cerebral white matter hyperintensities on MRI. JF - Brain Y1 - 2022 A1 - Yang, Yunju A1 - Knol, Maria J A1 - Wang, Ruiqi A1 - Mishra, Aniket A1 - Liu, Dan A1 - Luciano, Michelle A1 - Teumer, Alexander A1 - Armstrong, Nicola A1 - Bis, Joshua C A1 - Jhun, Min A A1 - Li, Shuo A1 - Adams, Hieab H H A1 - Aziz, Nasir Ahmad A1 - Bastin, Mark E A1 - Bourgey, Mathieu A1 - Brody, Jennifer A A1 - Frenzel, Stefan A1 - Gottesman, Rebecca F A1 - Hosten, Norbert A1 - Hou, Lifang A1 - Kardia, Sharon L R A1 - Lohner, Valerie A1 - Marquis, Pascale A1 - Maniega, Susana Muñoz A1 - Satizabal, Claudia L A1 - Sorond, Farzaneh A A1 - Valdés Hernández, Maria C A1 - van Duijn, Cornelia M A1 - Vernooij, Meike W A1 - Wittfeld, Katharina A1 - Yang, Qiong A1 - Zhao, Wei A1 - Boerwinkle, Eric A1 - Levy, Daniel A1 - Deary, Ian J A1 - Jiang, Jiyang A1 - Mather, Karen A A1 - Mosley, Thomas H A1 - Psaty, Bruce M A1 - Sachdev, Perminder S A1 - Smith, Jennifer A A1 - Sotoodehnia, Nona A1 - DeCarli, Charles S A1 - Breteler, Monique M B A1 - Arfan Ikram, M A1 - Grabe, Hans J A1 - Wardlaw, Joanna A1 - Longstreth, W T A1 - Launer, Lenore J A1 - Seshadri, Sudha A1 - Debette, Stephanie A1 - Fornage, Myriam AB -

Cerebral white matter hyperintensities on MRI are markers of cerebral small vessel disease, a major risk factor for dementia and stroke. Despite the successful identification of multiple genetic variants associated with this highly heritable condition, its genetic architecture remains incompletely understood. More specifically, the role of DNA methylation has received little attention. We investigated the association between white matter hyperintensity burden and DNA methylation in blood at approximately 450,000 CpG sites in 9,732 middle-aged to older adults from 14 community-based studies. Single-CpG and region-based association analyses were carried out. Functional annotation and integrative cross-omics analyses were performed to identify novel genes underlying the relationship between DNA methylation and white matter hyperintensities. We identified 12 single-CpG and 46 region-based DNA methylation associations with white matter hyperintensity burden. Our top discovery single CpG, cg24202936 (P = 7.6 × 10-8), was associated with F2 expression in blood (P = 6.4 × 10-5), and colocalized with FOLH1 expression in brain (posterior probability =0.75). Our top differentially methylated regions were in PRMT1 and in CCDC144NL-AS1, which were also represented in single-CpG associations (cg17417856 and cg06809326, respectively). Through Mendelian randomization analyses cg06809326 was putatively associated with white matter hyperintensity burden (P = 0.03) and expression of CCDC144NL-AS1 possibly mediated this association. Differentially methylated region analysis, joint epigenetic association analysis, and multi-omics colocalization analysis consistently identified a role of DNA methylation near SH3PXD2A, a locus previously identified in genome-wide association studies of white matter hyperintensities. Gene set enrichment analyses revealed functions of the identified DNA methylation loci in the blood-brain barrier and in the immune response. Integrative cross-omics analysis identified 19 key regulatory genes in two networks related to extracellular matrix organization, and lipid and lipoprotein metabolism. A drug repositioning analysis indicated antihyperlipidemic agents, more specifically peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor alpha, as possible target drugs for white matter hyperintensities. Our epigenome-wide association study and integrative cross-omics analyses implicate novel genes influencing white matter hyperintensity burden, which converged on pathways related to the immune response and to a compromised blood brain barrier possibly due to disrupted cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix interactions. The results also suggest that antihyperlipidemic therapy may contribute to lowering risk for white matter hyperintensities possibly through protection against blood brain barrier disruption.

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