scholarly journals Analysing electrocardiographic traits and predicting cardiac risk in UK biobank

2021 ◽  
Vol 10 ◽  
pp. 204800402110236
Author(s):  
Julia Ramírez ◽  
Stefan van Duijvenboden ◽  
William J Young ◽  
Michele Orini ◽  
Aled R Jones ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Information ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Cardiac Risk ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
Clinical Tool ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Response To Exercise ◽  
Electrocardiogram Ecg

The electrocardiogram (ECG) is a commonly used clinical tool that reflects cardiac excitability and disease. Many parameters are can be measured and with the improvement of methodology can now be quantified in an automated fashion, with accuracy and at scale. Furthermore, these measurements can be heritable and thus genome wide association studies inform the underpinning biological mechanisms. In this review we describe how we have used the resources in UK Biobank to undertake such work. In particular, we focus on a substudy uniquely describing the response to exercise performed at scale with accompanying genetic information.

scholarly journals GWAS of three molecular traits highlights core genes and pathways alongside a highly polygenic background

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nasa Sinnott-Armstrong ◽  
Sahin Naqvi ◽  
Manuel Rivas ◽  
Jonathan K Pritchard
Keyword(s):  
Complex Traits ◽  
Genetic Basis ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Biological Processes ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
The Core ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Core Genes

SummaryGenome-wide association studies (GWAS) have been used to study the genetic basis of a wide variety of complex diseases and other traits. However, for most traits it remains difficult to interpret what genes and biological processes are impacted by the top hits. Here, as a contrast, we describe UK Biobank GWAS results for three molecular traits—urate, IGF-1, and testosterone—that are biologically simpler than most diseases, and for which we know a great deal in advance about the core genes and pathways. Unlike most GWAS of complex traits, for all three traits we find that most top hits are readily interpretable. We observe huge enrichment of significant signals near genes involved in the relevant biosynthesis, transport, or signaling pathways. We show how GWAS data illuminate the biology of variation in each trait, including insights into differences in testosterone regulation between females and males. Meanwhile, in other respects the results are reminiscent of GWAS for more-complex traits. In particular, even these molecular traits are highly polygenic, with most of the variance coming not from core genes, but from thousands to tens of thousands of variants spread across most of the genome. Given that diseases are often impacted by many distinct biological processes, including these three, our results help to illustrate why so many variants can affect risk for any given disease.

scholarly journals Reproducibility in the UK Biobank of Genome-Wide Significant Signals Discovered in Earlier Genome-wide Association Studies

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jack W. O’Sullivan ◽  
John P. A. Ioannidis
Keyword(s):  
Effect Size ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
P Value ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
Single Nucleotide ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Open Question

AbstractWith the establishment of large biobanks, discovery of single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) that are associated with various phenotypes has been accelerated. An open question is whether SNPs identified with genome-wide significance in earlier genome-wide association studies (GWAS) are replicated also in later GWAS conducted in biobanks. To address this question, the authors examined a publicly available GWAS database and identified two, independent GWAS on the same phenotype (an earlier, “discovery” GWAS and a later, replication GWAS done in the UK biobank). The analysis evaluated 136,318,924 SNPs (of which 6,289 had reached p<5e-8 in the discovery GWAS) from 4,397,962 participants across nine phenotypes. The overall replication rate was 85.0% and it was lower for binary than for quantitative phenotypes (58.1% versus 94.8% respectively). There was a18.0% decrease in SNP effect size for binary phenotypes, but a 12.0% increase for quantitative phenotypes. Using the discovery SNP effect size, phenotype trait (binary or quantitative), and discovery p-value, we built and validated a model that predicted SNP replication with area under the Receiver Operator Curve = 0.90. While non-replication may often reflect lack of power rather than genuine false-positive findings, these results provide insights about which discovered associations are likely to be seen again across subsequent GWAS.

Polygenic Risk Scores for Kidney Function and Their Associations with Circulating Proteome, and Incident Kidney Diseases

2021 ◽  
pp. ASN.2020111599
Author(s):  
Zhi Yu ◽  
Jin Jin ◽  
Adrienne Tin ◽  
Anna Köttgen ◽  
Bing Yu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Kidney Function ◽  
Kidney Diseases ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Polygenic Risk Score ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Plasma Proteome ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
Polygenic Risk ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
A Genome

Background: Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have revealed numerous loci for kidney function (estimated glomerular filtration rate, eGFR). The relationship of polygenic predictors of eGFR, risk of incident adverse kidney outcomes, and the plasma proteome is not known. Methods: We developed a genome-wide polygenic risk score (PRS) for eGFR by applying the LDpred algorithm to summary statistics generated from a multiethnic meta-analysis of CKDGen Consortium GWAS (N=765,348) and UK Biobank GWAS (90% of the cohort; N=451,508), followed by best parameter selection using the remaining 10% of UK Biobank (N=45,158). We then tested the association of the PRS in the Atherosclerosis Risk in Communities (ARIC) study (N=8,866) with incident chronic kidney disease, kidney failure, and acute kidney injury. We also examined associations between the PRS and 4,877 plasma proteins measured at at middle age and older adulthood and evaluated mediation of PRS associations by eGFR. Results: The developed PRS showed significant associations with all outcomes with hazard ratios (95% CI) per 1 SD lower PRS ranged from 1.06 (1.01, 1.11) to 1.33 (1.28, 1.37). The PRS was significantly associated with 132 proteins at both time points. The strongest associations were with cystatin-C, collagen alpha-1(XV) chain, and desmocollin-2. Most proteins were higher at lower kidney function, except for 5 proteins including testican-2. Most correlations of the genetic PRS with proteins were mediated by eGFR. Conclusions: A PRS for eGFR is now sufficiently strong to capture risk for a spectrum of incident kidney diseases and broadly influences the plasma proteome, primarily mediated by eGFR.

scholarly journals bGWAS: an R package to perform Bayesian genome wide association studies

2020 ◽  
Vol 36 (15) ◽  
pp. 4374-4376
Author(s):  
Ninon Mounier ◽  
Zoltán Kutalik
Keyword(s):  
Mendelian Randomization ◽  
Causal Effect ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
R Package ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Supplementary Information ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Biological Mechanisms ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Related Risk

Abstract Summary Increasing sample size is not the only strategy to improve discovery in Genome Wide Association Studies (GWASs) and we propose here an approach that leverages published studies of related traits to improve inference. Our Bayesian GWAS method derives informative prior effects by leveraging GWASs of related risk factors and their causal effect estimates on the focal trait using multivariable Mendelian randomization. These prior effects are combined with the observed effects to yield Bayes Factors, posterior and direct effects. The approach not only increases power, but also has the potential to dissect direct and indirect biological mechanisms. Availability and implementation bGWAS package is freely available under a GPL-2 License, and can be accessed, alongside with user guides and tutorials, from https://github.com/n-mounier/bGWAS. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.

scholarly journals Insights into the genetic basis of retinal detachment

2019 ◽  
Vol 29 (4) ◽  
pp. 689-702 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thibaud S Boutin ◽  
David G Charteris ◽  
Aman Chandra ◽  
Susan Campbell ◽  
Caroline Hayward ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Retinal Detachment ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Cataract Operation ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
Genetic Associations ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Genome Wide

Abstract Retinal detachment (RD) is a serious and common condition, but genetic studies to date have been hampered by the small size of the assembled cohorts. In the UK Biobank data set, where RD was ascertained by self-report or hospital records, genetic correlations between RD and high myopia or cataract operation were, respectively, 0.46 (SE = 0.08) and 0.44 (SE = 0.07). These correlations are consistent with known epidemiological associations. Through meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies using UK Biobank RD cases (N = 3 977) and two cohorts, each comprising ~1 000 clinically ascertained rhegmatogenous RD patients, we uncovered 11 genome-wide significant association signals. These are near or within ZC3H11B, BMP3, COL22A1, DLG5, PLCE1, EFEMP2, TYR, FAT3, TRIM29, COL2A1 and LOXL1. Replication in the 23andMe data set, where RD is self-reported by participants, firmly establishes six RD risk loci: FAT3, COL22A1, TYR, BMP3, ZC3H11B and PLCE1. Based on the genetic associations with eye traits described to date, the first two specifically impact risk of a RD, whereas the last four point to shared aetiologies with macular condition, myopia and glaucoma. Fine-mapping prioritized the lead common missense variant (TYR S192Y) as causal variant at the TYR locus and a small set of credible causal variants at the FAT3 locus. The larger study size presented here, enabled by resources linked to health records or self-report, provides novel insights into RD aetiology and underlying pathological pathways.

scholarly journals Comment on ‘Large-Scale Cognitive GWAS Meta-Analysis Reveals Tissue-Specific Neural Expression and Potential Nootropic Drug Targets’ by Lam et al.

2018 ◽  
Vol 21 (2) ◽  
pp. 84-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
W. David Hill
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Information ◽  
Drug Targets ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Genetic Correlations ◽  
Data Sets ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Nootropic Drug ◽  
Genome Wide

Intelligence and educational attainment are strongly genetically correlated. This relationship can be exploited by Multi-Trait Analysis of GWAS (MTAG) to add power to Genome-wide Association Studies (GWAS) of intelligence. MTAG allows the user to meta-analyze GWASs of different phenotypes, based on their genetic correlations, to identify association's specific to the trait of choice. An MTAG analysis using GWAS data sets on intelligence and education was conducted by Lam et al. (2017). Lam et al. (2017) reported 70 loci that they described as ‘trait specific’ to intelligence. This article examines whether the analysis conducted by Lam et al. (2017) has resulted in genetic information about a phenotype that is more similar to education than intelligence.

scholarly journals CVRMS: Cross-validated Rank-based Marker Selection for Genome-wide Prediction of Low Heritability

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Seongmun Jeong ◽  
Jae-Yoon Kim ◽  
Namshin Kim
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Information ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
R Package ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Marker Selection ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Precise Prediction ◽  
Human Animal ◽  
Selection For

AbstractCVRMS is an R package designed to extract marker subsets from repeated rank-based marker datasets generated from genome-wide association studies or marker effects for genome-wide prediction (https://github.com/lovemun/CVRMS). CVRMS provides an optimized genome-wide biomarker set with the best predictability of phenotype by implemented ridge regression using genetic information. Applying our method to human, animal, and plant datasets with wide heritability (zero to one), we selected hundreds to thousands of biomarkers for precise prediction.

scholarly journals The evolution of skin pigmentation associated variation in West Eurasia

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dan Ju ◽  
Iain Mathieson
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Variants ◽  
Association Studies ◽  
Skin Pigmentation ◽  
Directional Selection ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
Genome Wide ◽  
Light Skin ◽  
The Uk

AbstractSkin pigmentation is a classic example of a polygenic trait that has experienced directional selection in humans. Genome-wide association studies have identified well over a hundred pigmentation-associated loci, and genomic scans in present-day and ancient populations have identified selective sweeps for a small number of light pigmentation-associated alleles in Europeans. It is unclear whether selection has operated on all the genetic variation associated with skin pigmentation as opposed to just a small number of large-effect variants. Here, we address this question using ancient DNA from 1158 individuals from West Eurasia covering a period of 40,000 years combined with genome-wide association summary statistics from the UK Biobank. We find a robust signal of directional selection in ancient West Eurasians on skin pigmentation variants ascertained in the UK Biobank, but find this signal is driven mostly by a limited number of large-effect variants. Consistent with this observation, we find that a polygenic selection test in present-day populations fails to detect selection with the full set of variants; rather, only the top five show strong evidence of selection. Our data allow us to disentangle the effects of admixture and selection. Most notably, a large-effect variant at SLC24A5 was introduced to Europe by migrations of Neolithic farming populations but continued to be under selection post-admixture. This study shows that the response to selection for light skin pigmentation in West Eurasia was driven by a relatively small proportion of the variants that are associated with present-day phenotypic variation.SignificanceSome of the genes responsible for the evolution of light skin pigmentation in Europeans show signals of positive selection in present-day populations. Recently, genome-wide association studies have highlighted the highly polygenic nature of skin pigmentation. It is unclear whether selection has operated on all of these genetic variants or just a subset. By studying variation in over a thousand ancient genomes from West Eurasia covering 40,000 years we are able to study both the aggregate behavior of pigmentation-associated variants and the evolutionary history of individual variants. We find that the evolution of light skin pigmentation in Europeans was driven by frequency changes in a relatively small fraction of the genetic variants that are associated with variation in the trait today.

scholarly journals Polygenic transcriptome risk scores (PTRS) can improve portability of polygenic risk scores across ancestries

2022 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yanyu Liang ◽  
Milton Pividori ◽  
Ani Manichaikul ◽  
Abraham A. Palmer ◽  
Nancy J. Cox ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Association Studies ◽  
Poor Performance ◽  
Genome Wide Association ◽  
European Ancestry ◽  
Risk Scores ◽  
Genome Wide Association Studies ◽  
Uk Biobank ◽  
Transcript Levels ◽  
Polygenic Risk ◽  
Genome Wide

Abstract Background Polygenic risk scores (PRS) are valuable to translate the results of genome-wide association studies (GWAS) into clinical practice. To date, most GWAS have been based on individuals of European-ancestry leading to poor performance in populations of non-European ancestry. Results We introduce the polygenic transcriptome risk score (PTRS), which is based on predicted transcript levels (rather than SNPs), and explore the portability of PTRS across populations using UK Biobank data. Conclusions We show that PTRS has a significantly higher portability (Wilcoxon p=0.013) in the African-descent samples where the loss of performance is most acute with better performance than PRS when used in combination.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document