%0 Journal Article %J Nat Genet %D 2017 %T Genomic analyses identify hundreds of variants associated with age at menarche and support a role for puberty timing in cancer risk. %A Day, Felix R %A Thompson, Deborah J %A Helgason, Hannes %A Chasman, Daniel I %A Finucane, Hilary %A Sulem, Patrick %A Ruth, Katherine S %A Whalen, Sean %A Sarkar, Abhishek K %A Albrecht, Eva %A Altmaier, Elisabeth %A Amini, Marzyeh %A Barbieri, Caterina M %A Boutin, Thibaud %A Campbell, Archie %A Demerath, Ellen %A Giri, Ayush %A He, Chunyan %A Hottenga, Jouke J %A Karlsson, Robert %A Kolcic, Ivana %A Loh, Po-Ru %A Lunetta, Kathryn L %A Mangino, Massimo %A Marco, Brumat %A McMahon, George %A Medland, Sarah E %A Nolte, Ilja M %A Noordam, Raymond %A Nutile, Teresa %A Paternoster, Lavinia %A Perjakova, Natalia %A Porcu, Eleonora %A Rose, Lynda M %A Schraut, Katharina E %A Segrè, Ayellet V %A Smith, Albert V %A Stolk, Lisette %A Teumer, Alexander %A Andrulis, Irene L %A Bandinelli, Stefania %A Beckmann, Matthias W %A Benitez, Javier %A Bergmann, Sven %A Bochud, Murielle %A Boerwinkle, Eric %A Bojesen, Stig E %A Bolla, Manjeet K %A Brand, Judith S %A Brauch, Hiltrud %A Brenner, Hermann %A Broer, Linda %A Brüning, Thomas %A Buring, Julie E %A Campbell, Harry %A Catamo, Eulalia %A Chanock, Stephen %A Chenevix-Trench, Georgia %A Corre, Tanguy %A Couch, Fergus J %A Cousminer, Diana L %A Cox, Angela %A Crisponi, Laura %A Czene, Kamila %A Davey Smith, George %A de Geus, Eco J C N %A de Mutsert, Renée %A De Vivo, Immaculata %A Dennis, Joe %A Devilee, Peter %A Dos-Santos-Silva, Isabel %A Dunning, Alison M %A Eriksson, Johan G %A Fasching, Peter A %A Fernández-Rhodes, Lindsay %A Ferrucci, Luigi %A Flesch-Janys, Dieter %A Franke, Lude %A Gabrielson, Marike %A Gandin, Ilaria %A Giles, Graham G %A Grallert, Harald %A Gudbjartsson, Daniel F %A Guenel, Pascal %A Hall, Per %A Hallberg, Emily %A Hamann, Ute %A Harris, Tamara B %A Hartman, Catharina A %A Heiss, Gerardo %A Hooning, Maartje J %A Hopper, John L %A Hu, Frank %A Hunter, David J %A Ikram, M Arfan %A Im, Hae Kyung %A Järvelin, Marjo-Riitta %A Joshi, Peter K %A Karasik, David %A Kellis, Manolis %A Kutalik, Zoltán %A LaChance, Genevieve %A Lambrechts, Diether %A Langenberg, Claudia %A Launer, Lenore J %A Laven, Joop S E %A Lenarduzzi, Stefania %A Li, Jingmei %A Lind, Penelope A %A Lindström, Sara %A Liu, Yongmei %A Luan, Jian'an %A Mägi, Reedik %A Mannermaa, Arto %A Mbarek, Hamdi %A McCarthy, Mark I %A Meisinger, Christa %A Meitinger, Thomas %A Menni, Cristina %A Metspalu, Andres %A Michailidou, Kyriaki %A Milani, Lili %A Milne, Roger L %A Montgomery, Grant W %A Mulligan, Anna M %A Nalls, Mike A %A Navarro, Pau %A Nevanlinna, Heli %A Nyholt, Dale R %A Oldehinkel, Albertine J %A O'Mara, Tracy A %A Padmanabhan, Sandosh %A Palotie, Aarno %A Pedersen, Nancy %A Peters, Annette %A Peto, Julian %A Pharoah, Paul D P %A Pouta, Anneli %A Radice, Paolo %A Rahman, Iffat %A Ring, Susan M %A Robino, Antonietta %A Rosendaal, Frits R %A Rudan, Igor %A Rueedi, Rico %A Ruggiero, Daniela %A Sala, Cinzia F %A Schmidt, Marjanka K %A Scott, Robert A %A Shah, Mitul %A Sorice, Rossella %A Southey, Melissa C %A Sovio, Ulla %A Stampfer, Meir %A Steri, Maristella %A Strauch, Konstantin %A Tanaka, Toshiko %A Tikkanen, Emmi %A Timpson, Nicholas J %A Traglia, Michela %A Truong, Therese %A Tyrer, Jonathan P %A Uitterlinden, André G %A Edwards, Digna R Velez %A Vitart, Veronique %A Völker, Uwe %A Vollenweider, Peter %A Wang, Qin %A Widen, Elisabeth %A van Dijk, Ko Willems %A Willemsen, Gonneke %A Winqvist, Robert %A Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H R %A Zhao, Jing Hua %A Zoledziewska, Magdalena %A Zygmunt, Marek %A Alizadeh, Behrooz Z %A Boomsma, Dorret I %A Ciullo, Marina %A Cucca, Francesco %A Esko, Tõnu %A Franceschini, Nora %A Gieger, Christian %A Gudnason, Vilmundur %A Hayward, Caroline %A Kraft, Peter %A Lawlor, Debbie A %A Magnusson, Patrik K E %A Martin, Nicholas G %A Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O %A Nohr, Ellen A %A Polasek, Ozren %A Porteous, David %A Price, Alkes L %A Ridker, Paul M %A Snieder, Harold %A Spector, Tim D %A Stöckl, Doris %A Toniolo, Daniela %A Ulivi, Sheila %A Visser, Jenny A %A Völzke, Henry %A Wareham, Nicholas J %A Wilson, James F %A Spurdle, Amanda B %A Thorsteindottir, Unnur %A Pollard, Katherine S %A Easton, Douglas F %A Tung, Joyce Y %A Chang-Claude, Jenny %A Hinds, David %A Murray, Anna %A Murabito, Joanne M %A Stefansson, Kari %A Ong, Ken K %A Perry, John R B %K Adolescent %K Age Factors %K Body Mass Index %K Databases, Genetic %K Female %K Genetic Predisposition to Disease %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Genomic Imprinting %K Humans %K Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins %K Male %K Membrane Proteins %K Menarche %K Neoplasms %K Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide %K Puberty %K Quantitative Trait Loci %K Ribonucleoproteins %K Risk Factors %X

The timing of puberty is a highly polygenic childhood trait that is epidemiologically associated with various adult diseases. Using 1000 Genomes Project-imputed genotype data in up to ∼370,000 women, we identify 389 independent signals (P < 5 × 10) for age at menarche, a milestone in female pubertal development. In Icelandic data, these signals explain ∼7.4% of the population variance in age at menarche, corresponding to ∼25% of the estimated heritability. We implicate ∼250 genes via coding variation or associated expression, demonstrating significant enrichment in neural tissues. Rare variants near the imprinted genes MKRN3 and DLK1 were identified, exhibiting large effects when paternally inherited. Mendelian randomization analyses suggest causal inverse associations, independent of body mass index (BMI), between puberty timing and risks for breast and endometrial cancers in women and prostate cancer in men. In aggregate, our findings highlight the complexity of the genetic regulation of puberty timing and support causal links with cancer susceptibility.

%B Nat Genet %V 49 %P 834-841 %8 2017 Jun %G eng %N 6 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28436984?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1038/ng.3841 %0 Journal Article %J Nature %D 2017 %T Rare and low-frequency coding variants alter human adult height. %A Marouli, Eirini %A Graff, Mariaelisa %A Medina-Gomez, Carolina %A Lo, Ken Sin %A Wood, Andrew R %A Kjaer, Troels R %A Fine, Rebecca S %A Lu, Yingchang %A Schurmann, Claudia %A Highland, Heather M %A Rüeger, Sina %A Thorleifsson, Gudmar %A Justice, Anne E %A Lamparter, David %A Stirrups, Kathleen E %A Turcot, Valérie %A Young, Kristin L %A Winkler, Thomas W %A Esko, Tõnu %A Karaderi, Tugce %A Locke, Adam E %A Masca, Nicholas G D %A Ng, Maggie C Y %A Mudgal, Poorva %A Rivas, Manuel A %A Vedantam, Sailaja %A Mahajan, Anubha %A Guo, Xiuqing %A Abecasis, Goncalo %A Aben, Katja K %A Adair, Linda S %A Alam, Dewan S %A Albrecht, Eva %A Allin, Kristine H %A Allison, Matthew %A Amouyel, Philippe %A Appel, Emil V %A Arveiler, Dominique %A Asselbergs, Folkert W %A Auer, Paul L %A Balkau, Beverley %A Banas, Bernhard %A Bang, Lia E %A Benn, Marianne %A Bergmann, Sven %A Bielak, Lawrence F %A Blüher, Matthias %A Boeing, Heiner %A Boerwinkle, Eric %A Böger, Carsten A %A Bonnycastle, Lori L %A Bork-Jensen, Jette %A Bots, Michiel L %A Bottinger, Erwin P %A Bowden, Donald W %A Brandslund, Ivan %A Breen, Gerome %A Brilliant, Murray H %A Broer, Linda %A Burt, Amber A %A Butterworth, Adam S %A Carey, David J %A Caulfield, Mark J %A Chambers, John C %A Chasman, Daniel I %A Chen, Yii-Der Ida %A Chowdhury, Rajiv %A Christensen, Cramer %A Chu, Audrey Y %A Cocca, Massimiliano %A Collins, Francis S %A Cook, James P %A Corley, Janie %A Galbany, Jordi Corominas %A Cox, Amanda J %A Cuellar-Partida, Gabriel %A Danesh, John %A Davies, Gail %A de Bakker, Paul I W %A de Borst, Gert J %A de Denus, Simon %A de Groot, Mark C H %A de Mutsert, Renée %A Deary, Ian J %A Dedoussis, George %A Demerath, Ellen W %A den Hollander, Anneke I %A Dennis, Joe G %A Di Angelantonio, Emanuele %A Drenos, Fotios %A Du, Mengmeng %A Dunning, Alison M %A Easton, Douglas F %A Ebeling, Tapani %A Edwards, Todd L %A Ellinor, Patrick T %A Elliott, Paul %A Evangelou, Evangelos %A Farmaki, Aliki-Eleni %A Faul, Jessica D %A Feitosa, Mary F %A Feng, Shuang %A Ferrannini, Ele %A Ferrario, Marco M %A Ferrières, Jean %A Florez, Jose C %A Ford, Ian %A Fornage, Myriam %A Franks, Paul W %A Frikke-Schmidt, Ruth %A Galesloot, Tessel E %A Gan, Wei %A Gandin, Ilaria %A Gasparini, Paolo %A Giedraitis, Vilmantas %A Giri, Ayush %A Girotto, Giorgia %A Gordon, Scott D %A Gordon-Larsen, Penny %A Gorski, Mathias %A Grarup, Niels %A Grove, Megan L %A Gudnason, Vilmundur %A Gustafsson, Stefan %A Hansen, Torben %A Harris, Kathleen Mullan %A Harris, Tamara B %A Hattersley, Andrew T %A Hayward, Caroline %A He, Liang %A Heid, Iris M %A Heikkilä, Kauko %A Helgeland, Øyvind %A Hernesniemi, Jussi %A Hewitt, Alex W %A Hocking, Lynne J %A Hollensted, Mette %A Holmen, Oddgeir L %A Hovingh, G Kees %A Howson, Joanna M M %A Hoyng, Carel B %A Huang, Paul L %A Hveem, Kristian %A Ikram, M Arfan %A Ingelsson, Erik %A Jackson, Anne U %A Jansson, Jan-Håkan %A Jarvik, Gail P %A Jensen, Gorm B %A Jhun, Min A %A Jia, Yucheng %A Jiang, Xuejuan %A Johansson, Stefan %A Jørgensen, Marit E %A Jørgensen, Torben %A Jousilahti, Pekka %A Jukema, J Wouter %A Kahali, Bratati %A Kahn, René S %A Kähönen, Mika %A Kamstrup, Pia R %A Kanoni, Stavroula %A Kaprio, Jaakko %A Karaleftheri, Maria %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A Karpe, Fredrik %A Kee, Frank %A Keeman, Renske %A Kiemeney, Lambertus A %A Kitajima, Hidetoshi %A Kluivers, Kirsten B %A Kocher, Thomas %A Komulainen, Pirjo %A Kontto, Jukka %A Kooner, Jaspal S %A Kooperberg, Charles %A Kovacs, Peter %A Kriebel, Jennifer %A Kuivaniemi, Helena %A Küry, Sébastien %A Kuusisto, Johanna %A La Bianca, Martina %A Laakso, Markku %A Lakka, Timo A %A Lange, Ethan M %A Lange, Leslie A %A Langefeld, Carl D %A Langenberg, Claudia %A Larson, Eric B %A Lee, I-Te %A Lehtimäki, Terho %A Lewis, Cora E %A Li, Huaixing %A Li, Jin %A Li-Gao, Ruifang %A Lin, Honghuang %A Lin, Li-An %A Lin, Xu %A Lind, Lars %A Lindström, Jaana %A Linneberg, Allan %A Liu, Yeheng %A Liu, Yongmei %A Lophatananon, Artitaya %A Luan, Jian'an %A Lubitz, Steven A %A Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka %A Mackey, David A %A Madden, Pamela A F %A Manning, Alisa K %A Männistö, Satu %A Marenne, Gaëlle %A Marten, Jonathan %A Martin, Nicholas G %A Mazul, Angela L %A Meidtner, Karina %A Metspalu, Andres %A Mitchell, Paul %A Mohlke, Karen L %A Mook-Kanamori, Dennis O %A Morgan, Anna %A Morris, Andrew D %A Morris, Andrew P %A Müller-Nurasyid, Martina %A Munroe, Patricia B %A Nalls, Mike A %A Nauck, Matthias %A Nelson, Christopher P %A Neville, Matt %A Nielsen, Sune F %A Nikus, Kjell %A Njølstad, Pål R %A Nordestgaard, Børge G %A Ntalla, Ioanna %A O'Connel, Jeffrey R %A Oksa, Heikki %A Loohuis, Loes M Olde %A Ophoff, Roel A %A Owen, Katharine R %A Packard, Chris J %A Padmanabhan, Sandosh %A Palmer, Colin N A %A Pasterkamp, Gerard %A Patel, Aniruddh P %A Pattie, Alison %A Pedersen, Oluf %A Peissig, Peggy L %A Peloso, Gina M %A Pennell, Craig E %A Perola, Markus %A Perry, James A %A Perry, John R B %A Person, Thomas N %A Pirie, Ailith %A Polasek, Ozren %A Posthuma, Danielle %A Raitakari, Olli T %A Rasheed, Asif %A Rauramaa, Rainer %A Reilly, Dermot F %A Reiner, Alex P %A Renstrom, Frida %A Ridker, Paul M %A Rioux, John D %A Robertson, Neil %A Robino, Antonietta %A Rolandsson, Olov %A Rudan, Igor %A Ruth, Katherine S %A Saleheen, Danish %A Salomaa, Veikko %A Samani, Nilesh J %A Sandow, Kevin %A Sapkota, Yadav %A Sattar, Naveed %A Schmidt, Marjanka K %A Schreiner, Pamela J %A Schulze, Matthias B %A Scott, Robert A %A Segura-Lepe, Marcelo P %A Shah, Svati %A Sim, Xueling %A Sivapalaratnam, Suthesh %A Small, Kerrin S %A Smith, Albert Vernon %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Southam, Lorraine %A Spector, Timothy D %A Speliotes, Elizabeth K %A Starr, John M %A Steinthorsdottir, Valgerdur %A Stringham, Heather M %A Stumvoll, Michael %A Surendran, Praveen %A 't Hart, Leen M %A Tansey, Katherine E %A Tardif, Jean-Claude %A Taylor, Kent D %A Teumer, Alexander %A Thompson, Deborah J %A Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur %A Thuesen, Betina H %A Tönjes, Anke %A Tromp, Gerard %A Trompet, Stella %A Tsafantakis, Emmanouil %A Tuomilehto, Jaakko %A Tybjaerg-Hansen, Anne %A Tyrer, Jonathan P %A Uher, Rudolf %A Uitterlinden, André G %A Ulivi, Sheila %A van der Laan, Sander W %A Van Der Leij, Andries R %A van Duijn, Cornelia M %A van Schoor, Natasja M %A van Setten, Jessica %A Varbo, Anette %A Varga, Tibor V %A Varma, Rohit %A Edwards, Digna R Velez %A Vermeulen, Sita H %A Vestergaard, Henrik %A Vitart, Veronique %A Vogt, Thomas F %A Vozzi, Diego %A Walker, Mark %A Wang, Feijie %A Wang, Carol A %A Wang, Shuai %A Wang, Yiqin %A Wareham, Nicholas J %A Warren, Helen R %A Wessel, Jennifer %A Willems, Sara M %A Wilson, James G %A Witte, Daniel R %A Woods, Michael O %A Wu, Ying %A Yaghootkar, Hanieh %A Yao, Jie %A Yao, Pang %A Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M %A Young, Robin %A Zeggini, Eleftheria %A Zhan, Xiaowei %A Zhang, Weihua %A Zhao, Jing Hua %A Zhao, Wei %A Zhao, Wei %A Zheng, He %A Zhou, Wei %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Boehnke, Michael %A Kathiresan, Sekar %A McCarthy, Mark I %A Willer, Cristen J %A Stefansson, Kari %A Borecki, Ingrid B %A Liu, Dajiang J %A North, Kari E %A Heard-Costa, Nancy L %A Pers, Tune H %A Lindgren, Cecilia M %A Oxvig, Claus %A Kutalik, Zoltán %A Rivadeneira, Fernando %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Frayling, Timothy M %A Hirschhorn, Joel N %A Deloukas, Panos %A Lettre, Guillaume %K ADAMTS Proteins %K Adult %K Alleles %K Body Height %K Cell Adhesion Molecules %K Female %K Gene Frequency %K Genetic Variation %K Genome, Human %K Glycoproteins %K Glycosaminoglycans %K Hedgehog Proteins %K Humans %K Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins %K Interferon Regulatory Factors %K Interleukin-11 Receptor alpha Subunit %K Male %K Multifactorial Inheritance %K NADPH Oxidase 4 %K NADPH Oxidases %K Phenotype %K Pregnancy-Associated Plasma Protein-A %K Procollagen N-Endopeptidase %K Proteoglycans %K Proteolysis %K Receptors, Androgen %K Somatomedins %X

Height is a highly heritable, classic polygenic trait with approximately 700 common associated variants identified through genome-wide association studies so far. Here, we report 83 height-associated coding variants with lower minor-allele frequencies (in the range of 0.1-4.8%) and effects of up to 2 centimetres per allele (such as those in IHH, STC2, AR and CRISPLD2), greater than ten times the average effect of common variants. In functional follow-up studies, rare height-increasing alleles of STC2 (giving an increase of 1-2 centimetres per allele) compromised proteolytic inhibition of PAPP-A and increased cleavage of IGFBP-4 in vitro, resulting in higher bioavailability of insulin-like growth factors. These 83 height-associated variants overlap genes that are mutated in monogenic growth disorders and highlight new biological candidates (such as ADAMTS3, IL11RA and NOX4) and pathways (such as proteoglycan and glycosaminoglycan synthesis) involved in growth. Our results demonstrate that sufficiently large sample sizes can uncover rare and low-frequency variants of moderate-to-large effect associated with polygenic human phenotypes, and that these variants implicate relevant genes and pathways.

%B Nature %V 542 %P 186-190 %8 2017 02 09 %G eng %N 7640 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28146470?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1038/nature21039 %0 Journal Article %J Nat Genet %D 2012 %T Meta-analyses identify 13 loci associated with age at menopause and highlight DNA repair and immune pathways. %A Stolk, Lisette %A Perry, John R B %A Chasman, Daniel I %A He, Chunyan %A Mangino, Massimo %A Sulem, Patrick %A Barbalic, Maja %A Broer, Linda %A Byrne, Enda M %A Ernst, Florian %A Esko, Tõnu %A Franceschini, Nora %A Gudbjartsson, Daniel F %A Hottenga, Jouke-Jan %A Kraft, Peter %A McArdle, Patrick F %A Porcu, Eleonora %A Shin, So-Youn %A Smith, Albert V %A van Wingerden, Sophie %A Zhai, Guangju %A Zhuang, Wei V %A Albrecht, Eva %A Alizadeh, Behrooz Z %A Aspelund, Thor %A Bandinelli, Stefania %A Lauc, Lovorka Barac %A Beckmann, Jacques S %A Boban, Mladen %A Boerwinkle, Eric %A Broekmans, Frank J %A Burri, Andrea %A Campbell, Harry %A Chanock, Stephen J %A Chen, Constance %A Cornelis, Marilyn C %A Corre, Tanguy %A Coviello, Andrea D %A d'Adamo, Pio %A Davies, Gail %A de Faire, Ulf %A de Geus, Eco J C %A Deary, Ian J %A Dedoussis, George V Z %A Deloukas, Panagiotis %A Ebrahim, Shah %A Eiriksdottir, Gudny %A Emilsson, Valur %A Eriksson, Johan G %A Fauser, Bart C J M %A Ferreli, Liana %A Ferrucci, Luigi %A Fischer, Krista %A Folsom, Aaron R %A Garcia, Melissa E %A Gasparini, Paolo %A Gieger, Christian %A Glazer, Nicole %A Grobbee, Diederick E %A Hall, Per %A Haller, Toomas %A Hankinson, Susan E %A Hass, Merli %A Hayward, Caroline %A Heath, Andrew C %A Hofman, Albert %A Ingelsson, Erik %A Janssens, A Cecile J W %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Karasik, David %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A Keyzer, Jules %A Kiel, Douglas P %A Kolcic, Ivana %A Kutalik, Zoltán %A Lahti, Jari %A Lai, Sandra %A Laisk, Triin %A Laven, Joop S E %A Lawlor, Debbie A %A Liu, Jianjun %A Lopez, Lorna M %A Louwers, Yvonne V %A Magnusson, Patrik K E %A Marongiu, Mara %A Martin, Nicholas G %A Klaric, Irena Martinovic %A Masciullo, Corrado %A McKnight, Barbara %A Medland, Sarah E %A Melzer, David %A Mooser, Vincent %A Navarro, Pau %A Newman, Anne B %A Nyholt, Dale R %A Onland-Moret, N Charlotte %A Palotie, Aarno %A Paré, Guillaume %A Parker, Alex N %A Pedersen, Nancy L %A Peeters, Petra H M %A Pistis, Giorgio %A Plump, Andrew S %A Polasek, Ozren %A Pop, Victor J M %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Räikkönen, Katri %A Rehnberg, Emil %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Rudan, Igor %A Sala, Cinzia %A Salumets, Andres %A Scuteri, Angelo %A Singleton, Andrew %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Snieder, Harold %A Soranzo, Nicole %A Stacey, Simon N %A Starr, John M %A Stathopoulou, Maria G %A Stirrups, Kathleen %A Stolk, Ronald P %A Styrkarsdottir, Unnur %A Sun, Yan V %A Tenesa, Albert %A Thorand, Barbara %A Toniolo, Daniela %A Tryggvadottir, Laufey %A Tsui, Kim %A Ulivi, Sheila %A van Dam, Rob M %A van der Schouw, Yvonne T %A van Gils, Carla H %A van Nierop, Peter %A Vink, Jacqueline M %A Visscher, Peter M %A Voorhuis, Marlies %A Waeber, Gerard %A Wallaschofski, Henri %A Wichmann, H Erich %A Widen, Elisabeth %A Wijnands-van Gent, Colette J M %A Willemsen, Gonneke %A Wilson, James F %A Wolffenbuttel, Bruce H R %A Wright, Alan F %A Yerges-Armstrong, Laura M %A Zemunik, Tatijana %A Zgaga, Lina %A Zillikens, M Carola %A Zygmunt, Marek %A Arnold, Alice M %A Boomsma, Dorret I %A Buring, Julie E %A Crisponi, Laura %A Demerath, Ellen W %A Gudnason, Vilmundur %A Harris, Tamara B %A Hu, Frank B %A Hunter, David J %A Launer, Lenore J %A Metspalu, Andres %A Montgomery, Grant W %A Oostra, Ben A %A Ridker, Paul M %A Sanna, Serena %A Schlessinger, David %A Spector, Tim D %A Stefansson, Kari %A Streeten, Elizabeth A %A Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur %A Uda, Manuela %A Uitterlinden, André G %A van Duijn, Cornelia M %A Völzke, Henry %A Murray, Anna %A Murabito, Joanne M %A Visser, Jenny A %A Lunetta, Kathryn L %K Age Factors %K DNA Helicases %K DNA Primase %K DNA Repair %K DNA Repair Enzymes %K DNA-Directed DNA Polymerase %K European Continental Ancestry Group %K Exodeoxyribonucleases %K Female %K Genetic Loci %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Humans %K Immunity %K Menopause %K Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide %K Proteins %X

To newly identify loci for age at natural menopause, we carried out a meta-analysis of 22 genome-wide association studies (GWAS) in 38,968 women of European descent, with replication in up to 14,435 women. In addition to four known loci, we identified 13 loci newly associated with age at natural menopause (at P < 5 × 10(-8)). Candidate genes located at these newly associated loci include genes implicated in DNA repair (EXO1, HELQ, UIMC1, FAM175A, FANCI, TLK1, POLG and PRIM1) and immune function (IL11, NLRP11 and PRRC2A (also known as BAT2)). Gene-set enrichment pathway analyses using the full GWAS data set identified exoDNase, NF-κB signaling and mitochondrial dysfunction as biological processes related to timing of menopause.

%B Nat Genet %V 44 %P 260-8 %8 2012 Mar %G eng %N 3 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22267201?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1038/ng.1051