scholarly journals Genome-wide Association Study of Anxiety and Stress-related Disorders in the iPSYCH Cohort

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra M. Meier ◽  
Kalevi Trontti ◽  
Thomas Damm Als ◽  
Mikaela Laine ◽  
Marianne Giørtz Pedersen ◽  
...  

AbstractAnxiety and stress-related disorders (ASRD) are among the most common mental disorders with the majority of patients suffering from additional disorders. Family and twin studies indicate that genetic and environmental factors are underlying their etiology. As ASRD are likely to configure various expressions of abnormalities in the basic stress-response system, we conducted a genome-wide association study including 12,655 cases with various anxiety and stress-related diagnoses and 19,225 controls. Standard association analyses were performed supplemented by a framework of sensitivity analyses. Variants in PDE4B showed consistent association with ASRD across a wide range of our analyses. In mice models, alternations in PDE4B expression were observed in those mice displaying anxious behavior after exposure to chronic stress. We also showed that 28% of the variance in ASRD was accounted for by common variants and that the genetic signature of ASRD overlapped with psychiatric traits, educational outcomes, obesity-related phenotypes, smoking, and reproductive success.

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Envel Kerdaffrec ◽  
Magnus Nordborg

AbstractSeed dormancy is a complex adaptive trait that controls the timing of seed germination, one of the major fitness components in many plant species. Despite being highly heritable, seed dormancy is extremely plastic and influenced by a wide range of environmental cues. Here, using a set of 92 Arabidopsis thaliana lines from Sweden, we investigate the effect of seed maturation temperature on dormancy variation at the population level. The response to temperature differs dramatically between lines, demonstrating that genotype and the maternal environment interact in controlling the trait. By performing a genome-wide association study (GWAS), we identified several candidate genes that could account for this plasticity, two of which are involved in the photoinduction of germination. Altogether, our results provide insight into both the molecular mechanisms and the evolution of dormancy plasticity, and can serve to improve our understanding of environmentally dependent life-history transitions.HighlightThe effect of low seed-maturation temperatures on seed dormancy is highly variable in Arabidopsis thaliana accessions from Sweden, denoting strong genotype-environment interactions, and a genome-wide association study identified compelling candidates that could account for this plasticity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dirk Alexander Wittekind ◽  
Markus Scholz ◽  
Jürgen Kratzsch ◽  
Markus Löffler ◽  
Katrin Horn ◽  
...  

Objective: Ghrelin is an orexigenic peptide hormone involved in the regulation of energy homeostasis, food intake and glucose metabolism. Serum levels increase anticipating a meal and fall afterwards. Underlying genetic mechanisms of the ghrelin secretion are unknown. Methods: Total serum ghrelin was measured in 1501 subjects selected from the population-based LIFE-ADULT-sample after an overnight fast. A genome-wide association study (GWAS) was performed. Gene-based expression association analyses (transcriptome-wide association study (TWAS)) are statistical tests associating genetically predicted expression to a certain trait and were done using MetaXcan. Results: In the GWAS, three loci reached genome-wide significance: the WW-domain containing the oxidoreductase-gene (WWOX; p=1.80E-10) on chromosome 16q23.3-24.1 (SNP: rs76823993); the Contactin-Associated Protein-Like 2 gene (CNTNAP2; p=9.0E-9) on chromosome 7q35-q36 (SNP: rs192092592) and the Ghrelin And Obestatin Prepropeptide gene (GHRL; p=2.72E-8) on chromosome 3p25.3 (SNP: rs143729751). In the TWAS, the three genes where expression was strongest associated with serum ghrelin levels was the Ribosomal Protein L36 (RPL36; p=1.3E-06, FDR=0.011, positively correlated), AP1B1 (p=1.1E-5, FDR=0.048, negatively correlated) and the GDNF Family Receptor Alpha Like (GFRAL), receptor of the anorexigenic Growth Differentiation Factor-15 (GDF15), (p=1.8E-05, FDR=0.15, also negatively correlated). Conclusions: The three genome-wide significant genetic loci from the GWA and the genes identified in the TWA are functionally plausible and should initiate further research.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pi-Hua Liu ◽  
Gwo-Tsann Chuang ◽  
Chia-Ni Hsiung ◽  
Wei-Shun Yang ◽  
Hsiao-Chia Ku ◽  
...  

Abstract SummaryPurpose: Melatonin exerts a wide range of effects among various tissues and organs. However, there is currently no study to investigate the genetic determinants of melatonin secretion. Here, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) for melatonin secretion using morning urine 6-hydroxymelatonin sulfate-to-creatinine ratio (UMCR). Methods: We initially enrolled 5,000 participants from Taiwan Biobank in this study. After excluding individuals that did not have their urine collected in the morning and those who failed to pass quality control, association of single nucleotide polymorphisms with log-transformed UMCR adjusted for age, sex and principal components of ancestry were analyzed. A second model additionally adjusted for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Results: A total of 2,504 participants underwent the genome-wide analysis. Six candidate loci associated with log UMCR (P value ranging from 7.54 x 10-7 to 4.65 x 10-6) encompassing GALNT15, ZFHX3, NKAIN2, MME and NBPF22P were identified. Similar results were yielded with further adjustment for eGFR. Interestingly, the identified genes are associated with central nervous system function and clinical condition such as Alzheimer's disease or sleep disorders.Conclusions: We conducted the first GWAS for melatonin secretion and identified six candidate genetic loci associated with melatonin level. Replication and functional studies are needed in the future.


2022 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard J Packer ◽  
Nick Shrine ◽  
Robert Hall ◽  
Carl Melbourne ◽  
Rebecca Thompson ◽  
...  

Background Chronic sputum production impacts on quality of life and is a feature of many respiratory diseases. Identification of the genetic variants associated with chronic sputum production in a disease agnostic sample could improve understanding of its causes and identify new molecular targets for treatment. Methods We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of chronic sputum production in UK Biobank. Signals meeting genome-wide significance (P<5x10-8) were fine-mapped and putative causal genes identified by gene expression analysis. GWAS of respiratory traits were interrogated to identify whether the signals were driven by existing respiratory disease amongst the cases and variants were further investigated for wider pleiotropic effects using phenome-wide association studies (PheWAS). Findings From a GWAS of 9,714 cases and 48,471 controls, we identified six novel genome-wide significant signals for chronic sputum production including the Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) locus, chromosome 11 mucin locus (containing MUC2, MUC5AC and MUC5B) and the FUT2 locus. The mucin locus signal had previously been reported for association with moderate-to-severe asthma. The HLA signal was fine-mapped to an amino-acid change of threonine to arginine (frequency 36.8%) in HLA-DRB1 (HLA-DRB1*03:147). The signal near FUT2 was associated with expression of several genes including FUT2, for which the direction of effect was tissue dependent. Our PheWAS identified a wide range of associations. Interpretation Novel signals at the FUT2 and mucin loci highlight mucin flucosylation as a driver of chronic sputum production even in the absence of diagnosed respiratory disease and provide genetic support for this pathway as a target for therapeutic intervention.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document