1. |
- Locke, Adam E, et al.
(author)
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Genetic studies of body mass index yield new insights for obesity biology.
- 2015
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 518:7538, s. 197-401
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Obesity is heritable and predisposes to many diseases. To understand the genetic basis of obesity better, here we conduct a genome-wide association study and Metabochip meta-analysis of body mass index (BMI), a measure commonly used to define obesity and assess adiposity, in up to 339,224 individuals. This analysis identifies 97 BMI-associated loci (P < 5 × 10(-8)), 56 of which are novel. Five loci demonstrate clear evidence of several independent association signals, and many loci have significant effects on other metabolic phenotypes. The 97 loci account for ∼2.7% of BMI variation, and genome-wide estimates suggest that common variation accounts for >20% of BMI variation. Pathway analyses provide strong support for a role of the central nervous system in obesity susceptibility and implicate new genes and pathways, including those related to synaptic function, glutamate signalling, insulin secretion/action, energy metabolism, lipid biology and adipogenesis.
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2. |
- Shungin, Dmitry, et al.
(author)
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New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.
- 2015
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In: Nature. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 0028-0836 .- 1476-4687. ; 518:7538, s. 187-378
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms.
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- Di Angelantonio, Emanuele, et al.
(author)
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Association of Cardiometabolic Multimorbidity With Mortality : The Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration
- 2015
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In: Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). - : American Medical Association (AMA). - 0098-7484 .- 1538-3598. ; 314:1, s. 52-60
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- IMPORTANCE The prevalence of cardiometabolic multimorbidity is increasing.OBJECTIVE To estimate reductions in life expectancy associated with cardiometabolic multimorbidity.DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS Age-and sex-adjusted mortality rates and hazard ratios (HRs) were calculated using individual participant data from the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration (689 300 participants; 91 cohorts; years of baseline surveys: 1960-2007; latest mortality follow-up: April 2013; 128 843 deaths). The HRs from the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration were compared with those from the UK Biobank (499 808 participants; years of baseline surveys: 2006-2010; latest mortality follow-up: November 2013; 7995 deaths). Cumulative survival was estimated by applying calculated age-specific HRs for mortality to contemporary US age-specific death rates. EXPOSURES A history of 2 or more of the following: diabetes mellitus, stroke, myocardial infarction (MI).MAIN OUTCOMES AND MEASURES All-cause mortality and estimated reductions in life expectancy.RESULTS In participants in the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration without a history of diabetes, stroke, or MI at baseline (reference group), the all-cause mortality rate adjusted to the age of 60 years was 6.8 per 1000 person-years. Mortality rates per 1000 person-years were 15.6 in participants with a history of diabetes, 16.1 in those with stroke, 16.8 in those with MI, 32.0 in those with both diabetes and MI, 32.5 in those with both diabetes and stroke, 32.8 in those with both stroke and MI, and 59.5 in those with diabetes, stroke, and MI. Compared with the reference group, the HRs for all-cause mortality were 1.9 (95% CI, 1.8-2.0) in participants with a history of diabetes, 2.1 (95% CI, 2.0-2.2) in those with stroke, 2.0 (95% CI, 1.9-2.2) in those with MI, 3.7 (95% CI, 3.3-4.1) in those with both diabetes and MI, 3.8 (95% CI, 3.5-4.2) in those with both diabetes and stroke, 3.5 (95% CI, 3.1-4.0) in those with both stroke and MI, and 6.9 (95% CI, 5.7-8.3) in those with diabetes, stroke, and MI. The HRs from the Emerging Risk Factors Collaboration were similar to those from the more recently recruited UK Biobank. The HRs were little changed after further adjustment for markers of established intermediate pathways (eg, levels of lipids and blood pressure) and lifestyle factors (eg, smoking, diet). At the age of 60 years, a history of any 2 of these conditions was associated with 12 years of reduced life expectancy and a history of all 3 of these conditions was associated with 15 years of reduced life expectancy.CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Mortality associated with a history of diabetes, stroke, or MI was similar for each condition. Because any combination of these conditions was associated with multiplicative mortality risk, life expectancy was substantially lower in people with multimorbidity.
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4. |
- Morin, Phillip A., et al.
(author)
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Geographic and temporal dynamics of a global radiation and diversification in the killer whale
- 2015
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In: Molecular Ecology. - : Wiley. - 0962-1083 .- 1365-294X. ; 24:15, s. 3964-3979
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Global climate change during the Late Pleistocene periodically encroached and then released habitat during the glacial cycles, causing range expansions and contractions in some species. These dynamics have played a major role in geographic radiations, diversification and speciation. We investigate these dynamics in the most widely distributed of marine mammals, the killer whale (Orcinus orca), using a global data set of over 450 samples. This marine top predator inhabits coastal and pelagic ecosystems ranging from the ice edge to the tropics, often exhibiting ecological, behavioural and morphological variation suggestive of local adaptation accompanied by reproductive isolation. Results suggest a rapid global radiation occurred over the last 350000years. Based on habitat models, we estimated there was only a 15% global contraction of core suitable habitat during the last glacial maximum, and the resources appeared to sustain a constant global effective female population size throughout the Late Pleistocene. Reconstruction of the ancestral phylogeography highlighted the high mobility of this species, identifying 22 strongly supported long-range dispersal events including interoceanic and interhemispheric movement. Despite this propensity for geographic dispersal, the increased sampling of this study uncovered very few potential examples of ancestral dispersal among ecotypes. Concordance of nuclear and mitochondrial data further confirms genetic cohesiveness, with little or no current gene flow among sympatric ecotypes. Taken as a whole, our data suggest that the glacial cycles influenced local populations in different ways, with no clear global pattern, but with secondary contact among lineages following long-range dispersal as a potential mechanism driving ecological diversification.
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5. |
- Barrett, Jennifer H., et al.
(author)
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Fine mapping of genetic susceptibility loci for melanoma reveals a mixture of single variant and multiple variant regions
- 2015
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In: International Journal of Cancer. - : Wiley. - 0020-7136 .- 1097-0215. ; 136:6, s. 1351-1360
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- At least 17 genomic regions are established as harboring melanoma susceptibility variants, in most instances with genome-wide levels of significance and replication in independent samples. Based on genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data augmented by imputation to the 1,000 Genomes reference panel, we have fine mapped these regions in over 5,000 individuals with melanoma (mainly from the GenoMEL consortium) and over 7,000 ethnically matched controls. A penalized regression approach was used to discover those SNP markers that most parsimoniously explain the observed association in each genomic region. For the majority of the regions, the signal is best explained by a single SNP, which sometimes, as in the tyrosinase region, is a known functional variant. However in five regions the explanation is more complex. At the CDKN2A locus, for example, there is strong evidence that not only multiple SNPs but also multiple genes are involved. Our results illustrate the variability in the biology underlying genome-wide susceptibility loci and make steps toward accounting for some of the missing heritability. What's new? In genome-wide association studies, researchers identify genetic variants that frequently associate with a particular disease, though the variants identified may not contribute to the molecular cause of the disease. This study took a closer look at 17 regions associated with melanoma, fine mapping the regions both in people with melanoma and in healthy controls. Though single SNPs account for the association in some regions, they found that in a few regions, several SNPs - and possibly multiple genes - contributed to the association signal. These findings illustrate the importance of not overlooking the interaction between multiple genetic markers when conducting such studies.
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6. |
- Davies, John R, et al.
(author)
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Development and validation of a melanoma risk score based on pooled data from 16 case-control studies
- 2015
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In: Cancer Epidemiology Biomarkers & Prevention. - 1538-7755. ; 24:5, s. 24-817
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- BACKGROUND: We report the development of a cutaneous melanoma risk algorithm based upon seven factors; hair color, skin type, family history, freckling, nevus count, number of large nevi, and history of sunburn, intended to form the basis of a self-assessment Web tool for the general public.METHODS: Predicted odds of melanoma were estimated by analyzing a pooled dataset from 16 case-control studies using logistic random coefficients models. Risk categories were defined based on the distribution of the predicted odds in the controls from these studies. Imputation was used to estimate missing data in the pooled datasets. The 30th, 60th, and 90th centiles were used to distribute individuals into four risk groups for their age, sex, and geographic location. Cross-validation was used to test the robustness of the thresholds for each group by leaving out each study one by one. Performance of the model was assessed in an independent UK case-control study dataset.RESULTS: Cross-validation confirmed the robustness of the threshold estimates. Cases and controls were well discriminated in the independent dataset [area under the curve, 0.75; 95% confidence interval (CI), 0.73-0.78]. Twenty-nine percent of cases were in the highest risk group compared with 7% of controls, and 43% of controls were in the lowest risk group compared with 13% of cases.CONCLUSION: We have identified a composite score representing an estimate of relative risk and successfully validated this score in an independent dataset.IMPACT: This score may be a useful tool to inform members of the public about their melanoma risk.
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7. |
- Goyette, Philippe, et al.
(author)
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High-density mapping of the MHC identifies a shared role for HLA-DRB1*01 : 03 in inflammatory bowel diseases and heterozygous advantage in ulcerative colitis
- 2015
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In: Nature Genetics. - New York, USA : Nature Publishing Group. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 47:2, s. 172-179
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genome-wide association studies of the related chronic inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) known as Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis have shown strong evidence of association to the major histocompatibility complex (MHC). This region encodes a large number of immunological candidates, including the antigen-presenting classical human leukocyte antigen (HLA) molecules. Studies in IBD have indicated that multiple independent associations exist at HLA and non-HLA genes, but they have lacked the statistical power to define the architecture of association and causal alleles. To address this, we performed high-density SNP typing of the MHC in >32,000 individuals with IBD, implicating multiple HLA alleles, with a primary role for HLA-DRB1*01:03 in both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Noteworthy differences were observed between these diseases, including a predominant role for class II HLA variants and heterozygous advantage observed in ulcerative colitis, suggesting an important role of the adaptive immune response in the colonic environment in the pathogenesis of IBD.
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8. |
- Onengut-Gumuscu, Suna, et al.
(author)
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Fine mapping of type 1 diabetes susceptibility loci and evidence for colocalization of causal variants with lymphoid gene enhancers.
- 2015
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In: Nature Genetics. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 1061-4036 .- 1546-1718. ; 47:4, s. 381-386
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Genetic studies of type 1 diabetes (T1D) have identified 50 susceptibility regions, finding major pathways contributing to risk, with some loci shared across immune disorders. To make genetic comparisons across autoimmune disorders as informative as possible, a dense genotyping array, the Immunochip, was developed, from which we identified four new T1D-associated regions (P < 5 × 10(-8)). A comparative analysis with 15 immune diseases showed that T1D is more similar genetically to other autoantibody-positive diseases, significantly most similar to juvenile idiopathic arthritis and significantly least similar to ulcerative colitis, and provided support for three additional new T1D risk loci. Using a Bayesian approach, we defined credible sets for the T1D-associated SNPs. The associated SNPs localized to enhancer sequences active in thymus, T and B cells, and CD34(+) stem cells. Enhancer-promoter interactions can now be analyzed in these cell types to identify which particular genes and regulatory sequences are causal.
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