Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified more than 50,000 unique associations with common human traits. While this represents a substantial step forward, establishing the biology underlying these associations has proven extremely difficult. Even determining which cell types and which particular gene(s) are relevant continues to be a challenge. Here, we conduct a cell-specific pathway analysis of the latest GWAS in multiple sclerosis (MS), which had analyzed a total of 47,351 cases and 68,284 healthy controls and found more than 200 non-MHC genome-wide associations. Our analysis identifies pan immune cell as well as cell-specific susceptibility genes in T cells, B cells and monocytes. Finally, genotype-level data from 2,370 patients and 412 controls is used to compute intraindividual and cell-specific susceptibility pathways that offer a biological interpretation of the individual genetic risk to MS. This approach could be adopted in any other complex trait for which genome-wide data is available.
| Lingua originale | Inglese |
|---|---|
| pagine (da-a) | 2236 |
| Rivista | Nature Communications |
| Volume | 10 |
| Numero di pubblicazione | 1 |
| DOI | |
| Stato di pubblicazione | Pubblicato - 2019 |
Keywords
- Gene Expression Regulation
- Genes, Regulator
- Genetic Predisposition to Disease
- Genome-Wide Association Study
- Genotype
- Humans
- Multiple Sclerosis
- Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide
- Systems Biology