Genetic analysis of quantitative traits in the Japanese population links cell types to complex human diseases

Masahiro Kanai, Masato Akiyama, Atsushi Takahashi, Nana Matoba, Yukihide Momozawa, Masashi Ikeda, Nakao Iwata, Shiro Ikegawa, Makoto Hirata, Koichi Matsuda, Michiaki Kubo, Yukinori Okada, Yoichiro Kamatani

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

516 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

Clinical measurements can be viewed as useful intermediate phenotypes to promote understanding of complex human diseases. To acquire comprehensive insights into the underlying genetics, here we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of 58 quantitative traits in 162,255 Japanese individuals. Overall, we identified 1,407 trait-associated loci (P < 5.0 × 10 -8 ), 679 of which were novel. By incorporating 32 additional GWAS results for complex diseases and traits in Japanese individuals, we further highlighted pleiotropy, genetic correlations, and cell-type specificity across quantitative traits and diseases, which substantially expands the current understanding of the associated genetics and biology. This study identified both shared polygenic effects and cell-type specificity, represented by the genetic links among clinical measurements, complex diseases, and relevant cell types. Our findings demonstrate that even without prior biological knowledge of cross-phenotype relationships, genetics corresponding to clinical measurements successfully recapture those measurements' relevance to diseases, and thus can contribute to the elucidation of unknown etiology and pathogenesis.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)390-400
Number of pages11
JournalNature Genetics
Volume50
Issue number3
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - 01-03-2018

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • Genetics

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