%0 Journal Article %J Nat Commun %D 2018 %T PR interval genome-wide association meta-analysis identifies 50 loci associated with atrial and atrioventricular electrical activity. %A van Setten, Jessica %A Brody, Jennifer A %A Jamshidi, Yalda %A Swenson, Brenton R %A Butler, Anne M %A Campbell, Harry %A Del Greco, Fabiola M %A Evans, Daniel S %A Gibson, Quince %A Gudbjartsson, Daniel F %A Kerr, Kathleen F %A Krijthe, Bouwe P %A Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka %A Müller, Christian %A Müller-Nurasyid, Martina %A Nolte, Ilja M %A Padmanabhan, Sandosh %A Ritchie, Marylyn D %A Robino, Antonietta %A Smith, Albert V %A Steri, Maristella %A Tanaka, Toshiko %A Teumer, Alexander %A Trompet, Stella %A Ulivi, Sheila %A Verweij, Niek %A Yin, Xiaoyan %A Arnar, David O %A Asselbergs, Folkert W %A Bader, Joel S %A Barnard, John %A Bis, Josh %A Blankenberg, Stefan %A Boerwinkle, Eric %A Bradford, Yuki %A Buckley, Brendan M %A Chung, Mina K %A Crawford, Dana %A den Hoed, Marcel %A Denny, Josh C %A Dominiczak, Anna F %A Ehret, Georg B %A Eijgelsheim, Mark %A Ellinor, Patrick T %A Felix, Stephan B %A Franco, Oscar H %A Franke, Lude %A Harris, Tamara B %A Holm, Hilma %A Ilaria, Gandin %A Iorio, Annamaria %A Kähönen, Mika %A Kolcic, Ivana %A Kors, Jan A %A Lakatta, Edward G %A Launer, Lenore J %A Lin, Honghuang %A Lin, Henry J %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Lubitz, Steven A %A Macfarlane, Peter W %A Magnani, Jared W %A Leach, Irene Mateo %A Meitinger, Thomas %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Munzel, Thomas %A Papanicolaou, George J %A Peters, Annette %A Pfeufer, Arne %A Pramstaller, Peter P %A Raitakari, Olli T %A Rotter, Jerome I %A Rudan, Igor %A Samani, Nilesh J %A Schlessinger, David %A Silva Aldana, Claudia T %A Sinner, Moritz F %A Smith, Jonathan D %A Snieder, Harold %A Soliman, Elsayed Z %A Spector, Timothy D %A Stott, David J %A Strauch, Konstantin %A Tarasov, Kirill V %A Thorsteinsdottir, Unnur %A Uitterlinden, André G %A Van Wagoner, David R %A Völker, Uwe %A Völzke, Henry %A Waldenberger, Melanie %A Jan Westra, Harm %A Wild, Philipp S %A Zeller, Tanja %A Alonso, Alvaro %A Avery, Christy L %A Bandinelli, Stefania %A Benjamin, Emelia J %A Cucca, Francesco %A Dörr, Marcus %A Ferrucci, Luigi %A Gasparini, Paolo %A Gudnason, Vilmundur %A Hayward, Caroline %A Heckbert, Susan R %A Hicks, Andrew A %A Jukema, J Wouter %A Kääb, Stefan %A Lehtimäki, Terho %A Liu, Yongmei %A Munroe, Patricia B %A Parsa, Afshin %A Polasek, Ozren %A Psaty, Bruce M %A Roden, Dan M %A Schnabel, Renate B %A Sinagra, Gianfranco %A Stefansson, Kari %A Stricker, Bruno H %A van der Harst, Pim %A van Duijn, Cornelia M %A Wilson, James F %A Gharib, Sina A %A de Bakker, Paul I W %A Isaacs, Aaron %A Arking, Dan E %A Sotoodehnia, Nona %K Atrial Function %K Atrioventricular Node %K Electrocardiography %K Electrophysiological Phenomena %K Female %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Humans %K Linkage Disequilibrium %K Male %K Mutation, Missense %K Risk Factors %X

Electrocardiographic PR interval measures atrio-ventricular depolarization and conduction, and abnormal PR interval is a risk factor for atrial fibrillation and heart block. Our genome-wide association study of over 92,000 European-descent individuals identifies 44 PR interval loci (34 novel). Examination of these loci reveals known and previously not-yet-reported biological processes involved in cardiac atrial electrical activity. Genes in these loci are over-represented in cardiac disease processes including heart block and atrial fibrillation. Variants in over half of the 44 loci were associated with atrial or blood transcript expression levels, or were in high linkage disequilibrium with missense variants. Six additional loci were identified either by meta-analysis of ~105,000 African and European-descent individuals and/or by pleiotropic analyses combining PR interval with heart rate, QRS interval, and atrial fibrillation. These findings implicate developmental pathways, and identify transcription factors, ion-channel genes, and cell-junction/cell-signaling proteins in atrio-ventricular conduction, identifying potential targets for drug development.

%B Nat Commun %V 9 %P 2904 %8 2018 07 25 %G eng %N 1 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30046033?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1038/s41467-018-04766-9 %0 Journal Article %J Nat Commun %D 2016 %T Genetic associations at 53 loci highlight cell types and biological pathways relevant for kidney function. %A Pattaro, Cristian %A Teumer, Alexander %A Gorski, Mathias %A Chu, Audrey Y %A Li, Man %A Mijatovic, Vladan %A Garnaas, Maija %A Tin, Adrienne %A Sorice, Rossella %A Li, Yong %A Taliun, Daniel %A Olden, Matthias %A Foster, Meredith %A Yang, Qiong %A Chen, Ming-Huei %A Pers, Tune H %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Ko, Yi-An %A Fuchsberger, Christian %A Tayo, Bamidele %A Nalls, Michael %A Feitosa, Mary F %A Isaacs, Aaron %A Dehghan, Abbas %A d'Adamo, Pio %A Adeyemo, Adebowale %A Dieffenbach, Aida Karina %A Zonderman, Alan B %A Nolte, Ilja M %A van der Most, Peter J %A Wright, Alan F %A Shuldiner, Alan R %A Morrison, Alanna C %A Hofman, Albert %A Smith, Albert V %A Dreisbach, Albert W %A Franke, Andre %A Uitterlinden, André G %A Metspalu, Andres %A Tönjes, Anke %A Lupo, Antonio %A Robino, Antonietta %A Johansson, Åsa %A Demirkan, Ayse %A Kollerits, Barbara %A Freedman, Barry I %A Ponte, Belen %A Oostra, Ben A %A Paulweber, Bernhard %A Krämer, Bernhard K %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Buckley, Brendan M %A Peralta, Carmen A %A Hayward, Caroline %A Helmer, Catherine %A Rotimi, Charles N %A Shaffer, Christian M %A Müller, Christian %A Sala, Cinzia %A van Duijn, Cornelia M %A Saint-Pierre, Aude %A Ackermann, Daniel %A Shriner, Daniel %A Ruggiero, Daniela %A Toniolo, Daniela %A Lu, Yingchang %A Cusi, Daniele %A Czamara, Darina %A Ellinghaus, David %A Siscovick, David S %A Ruderfer, Douglas %A Gieger, Christian %A Grallert, Harald %A Rochtchina, Elena %A Atkinson, Elizabeth J %A Holliday, Elizabeth G %A Boerwinkle, Eric %A Salvi, Erika %A Bottinger, Erwin P %A Murgia, Federico %A Rivadeneira, Fernando %A Ernst, Florian %A Kronenberg, Florian %A Hu, Frank B %A Navis, Gerjan J %A Curhan, Gary C %A Ehret, George B %A Homuth, Georg %A Coassin, Stefan %A Thun, Gian-Andri %A Pistis, Giorgio %A Gambaro, Giovanni %A Malerba, Giovanni %A Montgomery, Grant W %A Eiriksdottir, Gudny %A Jacobs, Gunnar %A Li, Guo %A Wichmann, H-Erich %A Campbell, Harry %A Schmidt, Helena %A Wallaschofski, Henri %A Völzke, Henry %A Brenner, Hermann %A Kroemer, Heyo K %A Kramer, Holly %A Lin, Honghuang %A Leach, I Mateo %A Ford, Ian %A Guessous, Idris %A Rudan, Igor %A Prokopenko, Inga %A Borecki, Ingrid %A Heid, Iris M %A Kolcic, Ivana %A Persico, Ivana %A Jukema, J Wouter %A Wilson, James F %A Felix, Janine F %A Divers, Jasmin %A Lambert, Jean-Charles %A Stafford, Jeanette M %A Gaspoz, Jean-Michel %A Smith, Jennifer A %A Faul, Jessica D %A Wang, Jie Jin %A Ding, Jingzhong %A Hirschhorn, Joel N %A Attia, John %A Whitfield, John B %A Chalmers, John %A Viikari, Jorma %A Coresh, Josef %A Denny, Joshua C %A Karjalainen, Juha %A Fernandes, Jyotika K %A Endlich, Karlhans %A Butterbach, Katja %A Keene, Keith L %A Lohman, Kurt %A Portas, Laura %A Launer, Lenore J %A Lyytikäinen, Leo-Pekka %A Yengo, Loic %A Franke, Lude %A Ferrucci, Luigi %A Rose, Lynda M %A Kedenko, Lyudmyla %A Rao, Madhumathi %A Struchalin, Maksim %A Kleber, Marcus E %A Cavalieri, Margherita %A Haun, Margot %A Cornelis, Marilyn C %A Ciullo, Marina %A Pirastu, Mario %A de Andrade, Mariza %A McEvoy, Mark A %A Woodward, Mark %A Adam, Martin %A Cocca, Massimiliano %A Nauck, Matthias %A Imboden, Medea %A Waldenberger, Melanie %A Pruijm, Menno %A Metzger, Marie %A Stumvoll, Michael %A Evans, Michele K %A Sale, Michele M %A Kähönen, Mika %A Boban, Mladen %A Bochud, Murielle %A Rheinberger, Myriam %A Verweij, Niek %A Bouatia-Naji, Nabila %A Martin, Nicholas G %A Hastie, Nick %A Probst-Hensch, Nicole %A Soranzo, Nicole %A Devuyst, Olivier %A Raitakari, Olli %A Gottesman, Omri %A Franco, Oscar H %A Polasek, Ozren %A Gasparini, Paolo %A Munroe, Patricia B %A Ridker, Paul M %A Mitchell, Paul %A Muntner, Paul %A Meisinger, Christa %A Smit, Johannes H %A Kovacs, Peter %A Wild, Philipp S %A Froguel, Philippe %A Rettig, Rainer %A Mägi, Reedik %A Biffar, Reiner %A Schmidt, Reinhold %A Middelberg, Rita P S %A Carroll, Robert J %A Penninx, Brenda W %A Scott, Rodney J %A Katz, Ronit %A Sedaghat, Sanaz %A Wild, Sarah H %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A Ulivi, Sheila %A Hwang, Shih-Jen %A Enroth, Stefan %A Kloiber, Stefan %A Trompet, Stella %A Stengel, Bénédicte %A Hancock, Stephen J %A Turner, Stephen T %A Rosas, Sylvia E %A Stracke, Sylvia %A Harris, Tamara B %A Zeller, Tanja %A Zemunik, Tatijana %A Lehtimäki, Terho %A Illig, Thomas %A Aspelund, Thor %A Nikopensius, Tiit %A Esko, Tõnu %A Tanaka, Toshiko %A Gyllensten, Ulf %A Völker, Uwe %A Emilsson, Valur %A Vitart, Veronique %A Aalto, Ville %A Gudnason, Vilmundur %A Chouraki, Vincent %A Chen, Wei-Min %A Igl, Wilmar %A März, Winfried %A Koenig, Wolfgang %A Lieb, Wolfgang %A Loos, Ruth J F %A Liu, Yongmei %A Snieder, Harold %A Pramstaller, Peter P %A Parsa, Afshin %A O'Connell, Jeffrey R %A Susztak, Katalin %A Hamet, Pavel %A Tremblay, Johanne %A de Boer, Ian H %A Böger, Carsten A %A Goessling, Wolfram %A Chasman, Daniel I %A Köttgen, Anna %A Kao, W H Linda %A Fox, Caroline S %K Gene Expression Regulation %K Genetic Predisposition to Disease %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Genotype %K Humans %K Renal Insufficiency, Chronic %X

Reduced glomerular filtration rate defines chronic kidney disease and is associated with cardiovascular and all-cause mortality. We conducted a meta-analysis of genome-wide association studies for estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), combining data across 133,413 individuals with replication in up to 42,166 individuals. We identify 24 new and confirm 29 previously identified loci. Of these 53 loci, 19 associate with eGFR among individuals with diabetes. Using bioinformatics, we show that identified genes at eGFR loci are enriched for expression in kidney tissues and in pathways relevant for kidney development and transmembrane transporter activity, kidney structure, and regulation of glucose metabolism. Chromatin state mapping and DNase I hypersensitivity analyses across adult tissues demonstrate preferential mapping of associated variants to regulatory regions in kidney but not extra-renal tissues. These findings suggest that genetic determinants of eGFR are mediated largely through direct effects within the kidney and highlight important cell types and biological pathways.

%B Nat Commun %V 7 %P 10023 %8 2016 %G eng %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26831199?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1038/ncomms10023 %0 Journal Article %J PLoS Genet %D 2012 %T Genome-wide association and functional follow-up reveals new loci for kidney function. %A Pattaro, Cristian %A Köttgen, Anna %A Teumer, Alexander %A Garnaas, Maija %A Böger, Carsten A %A Fuchsberger, Christian %A Olden, Matthias %A Chen, Ming-Huei %A Tin, Adrienne %A Taliun, Daniel %A Li, Man %A Gao, Xiaoyi %A Gorski, Mathias %A Yang, Qiong %A Hundertmark, Claudia %A Foster, Meredith C %A O'Seaghdha, Conall M %A Glazer, Nicole %A Isaacs, Aaron %A Liu, Ching-Ti %A Smith, Albert V %A O'Connell, Jeffrey R %A Struchalin, Maksim %A Tanaka, Toshiko %A Li, Guo %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Gierman, Hinco J %A Feitosa, Mary %A Hwang, Shih-Jen %A Atkinson, Elizabeth J %A Lohman, Kurt %A Cornelis, Marilyn C %A Johansson, Åsa %A Tönjes, Anke %A Dehghan, Abbas %A Chouraki, Vincent %A Holliday, Elizabeth G %A Sorice, Rossella %A Kutalik, Zoltán %A Lehtimäki, Terho %A Esko, Tõnu %A Deshmukh, Harshal %A Ulivi, Sheila %A Chu, Audrey Y %A Murgia, Federico %A Trompet, Stella %A Imboden, Medea %A Kollerits, Barbara %A Pistis, Giorgio %A Harris, Tamara B %A Launer, Lenore J %A Aspelund, Thor %A Eiriksdottir, Gudny %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Boerwinkle, Eric %A Schmidt, Helena %A Cavalieri, Margherita %A Rao, Madhumathi %A Hu, Frank B %A Demirkan, Ayse %A Oostra, Ben A %A de Andrade, Mariza %A Turner, Stephen T %A Ding, Jingzhong %A Andrews, Jeanette S %A Freedman, Barry I %A Koenig, Wolfgang %A Illig, Thomas %A Döring, Angela %A Wichmann, H-Erich %A Kolcic, Ivana %A Zemunik, Tatijana %A Boban, Mladen %A Minelli, Cosetta %A Wheeler, Heather E %A Igl, Wilmar %A Zaboli, Ghazal %A Wild, Sarah H %A Wright, Alan F %A Campbell, Harry %A Ellinghaus, David %A Nöthlings, Ute %A Jacobs, Gunnar %A Biffar, Reiner %A Endlich, Karlhans %A Ernst, Florian %A Homuth, Georg %A Kroemer, Heyo K %A Nauck, Matthias %A Stracke, Sylvia %A Völker, Uwe %A Völzke, Henry %A Kovacs, Peter %A Stumvoll, Michael %A Mägi, Reedik %A Hofman, Albert %A Uitterlinden, André G %A Rivadeneira, Fernando %A Aulchenko, Yurii S %A Polasek, Ozren %A Hastie, Nick %A Vitart, Veronique %A Helmer, Catherine %A Wang, Jie Jin %A Ruggiero, Daniela %A Bergmann, Sven %A Kähönen, Mika %A Viikari, Jorma %A Nikopensius, Tiit %A Province, Michael %A Ketkar, Shamika %A Colhoun, Helen %A Doney, Alex %A Robino, Antonietta %A Giulianini, Franco %A Krämer, Bernhard K %A Portas, Laura %A Ford, Ian %A Buckley, Brendan M %A Adam, Martin %A Thun, Gian-Andri %A Paulweber, Bernhard %A Haun, Margot %A Sala, Cinzia %A Metzger, Marie %A Mitchell, Paul %A Ciullo, Marina %A Kim, Stuart K %A Vollenweider, Peter %A Raitakari, Olli %A Metspalu, Andres %A Palmer, Colin %A Gasparini, Paolo %A Pirastu, Mario %A Jukema, J Wouter %A Probst-Hensch, Nicole M %A Kronenberg, Florian %A Toniolo, Daniela %A Gudnason, Vilmundur %A Shuldiner, Alan R %A Coresh, Josef %A Schmidt, Reinhold %A Ferrucci, Luigi %A Siscovick, David S %A van Duijn, Cornelia M %A Borecki, Ingrid %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A Liu, Yongmei %A Curhan, Gary C %A Rudan, Igor %A Gyllensten, Ulf %A Wilson, James F %A Franke, Andre %A Pramstaller, Peter P %A Rettig, Rainer %A Prokopenko, Inga %A Witteman, Jacqueline C M %A Hayward, Caroline %A Ridker, Paul %A Parsa, Afshin %A Bochud, Murielle %A Heid, Iris M %A Goessling, Wolfram %A Chasman, Daniel I %A Kao, W H Linda %A Fox, Caroline S %K African Americans %K Aged %K Animals %K Caspase 9 %K Cyclin-Dependent Kinases %K DEAD-box RNA Helicases %K DNA Helicases %K European Continental Ancestry Group %K Female %K Follow-Up Studies %K Gene Knockdown Techniques %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Glomerular Filtration Rate %K Humans %K Kidney %K Kidney Failure, Chronic %K Male %K Middle Aged %K Phosphoric Diester Hydrolases %K Zebrafish %X

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is an important public health problem with a genetic component. We performed genome-wide association studies in up to 130,600 European ancestry participants overall, and stratified for key CKD risk factors. We uncovered 6 new loci in association with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), the primary clinical measure of CKD, in or near MPPED2, DDX1, SLC47A1, CDK12, CASP9, and INO80. Morpholino knockdown of mpped2 and casp9 in zebrafish embryos revealed podocyte and tubular abnormalities with altered dextran clearance, suggesting a role for these genes in renal function. By providing new insights into genes that regulate renal function, these results could further our understanding of the pathogenesis of CKD.

%B PLoS Genet %V 8 %P e1002584 %8 2012 %G eng %N 3 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22479191?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1371/journal.pgen.1002584 %0 Journal Article %J Hum Mol Genet %D 2012 %T Integration of genome-wide association studies with biological knowledge identifies six novel genes related to kidney function. %A Chasman, Daniel I %A Fuchsberger, Christian %A Pattaro, Cristian %A Teumer, Alexander %A Böger, Carsten A %A Endlich, Karlhans %A Olden, Matthias %A Chen, Ming-Huei %A Tin, Adrienne %A Taliun, Daniel %A Li, Man %A Gao, Xiaoyi %A Gorski, Mathias %A Yang, Qiong %A Hundertmark, Claudia %A Foster, Meredith C %A O'Seaghdha, Conall M %A Glazer, Nicole %A Isaacs, Aaron %A Liu, Ching-Ti %A Smith, Albert V %A O'Connell, Jeffrey R %A Struchalin, Maksim %A Tanaka, Toshiko %A Li, Guo %A Johnson, Andrew D %A Gierman, Hinco J %A Feitosa, Mary F %A Hwang, Shih-Jen %A Atkinson, Elizabeth J %A Lohman, Kurt %A Cornelis, Marilyn C %A Johansson, Åsa %A Tönjes, Anke %A Dehghan, Abbas %A Lambert, Jean-Charles %A Holliday, Elizabeth G %A Sorice, Rossella %A Kutalik, Zoltán %A Lehtimäki, Terho %A Esko, Tõnu %A Deshmukh, Harshal %A Ulivi, Sheila %A Chu, Audrey Y %A Murgia, Federico %A Trompet, Stella %A Imboden, Medea %A Coassin, Stefan %A Pistis, Giorgio %A Harris, Tamara B %A Launer, Lenore J %A Aspelund, Thor %A Eiriksdottir, Gudny %A Mitchell, Braxton D %A Boerwinkle, Eric %A Schmidt, Helena %A Cavalieri, Margherita %A Rao, Madhumathi %A Hu, Frank %A Demirkan, Ayse %A Oostra, Ben A %A de Andrade, Mariza %A Turner, Stephen T %A Ding, Jingzhong %A Andrews, Jeanette S %A Freedman, Barry I %A Giulianini, Franco %A Koenig, Wolfgang %A Illig, Thomas %A Meisinger, Christa %A Gieger, Christian %A Zgaga, Lina %A Zemunik, Tatijana %A Boban, Mladen %A Minelli, Cosetta %A Wheeler, Heather E %A Igl, Wilmar %A Zaboli, Ghazal %A Wild, Sarah H %A Wright, Alan F %A Campbell, Harry %A Ellinghaus, David %A Nöthlings, Ute %A Jacobs, Gunnar %A Biffar, Reiner %A Ernst, Florian %A Homuth, Georg %A Kroemer, Heyo K %A Nauck, Matthias %A Stracke, Sylvia %A Völker, Uwe %A Völzke, Henry %A Kovacs, Peter %A Stumvoll, Michael %A Mägi, Reedik %A Hofman, Albert %A Uitterlinden, André G %A Rivadeneira, Fernando %A Aulchenko, Yurii S %A Polasek, Ozren %A Hastie, Nick %A Vitart, Veronique %A Helmer, Catherine %A Wang, Jie Jin %A Stengel, Bénédicte %A Ruggiero, Daniela %A Bergmann, Sven %A Kähönen, Mika %A Viikari, Jorma %A Nikopensius, Tiit %A Province, Michael %A Ketkar, Shamika %A Colhoun, Helen %A Doney, Alex %A Robino, Antonietta %A Krämer, Bernhard K %A Portas, Laura %A Ford, Ian %A Buckley, Brendan M %A Adam, Martin %A Thun, Gian-Andri %A Paulweber, Bernhard %A Haun, Margot %A Sala, Cinzia %A Mitchell, Paul %A Ciullo, Marina %A Kim, Stuart K %A Vollenweider, Peter %A Raitakari, Olli %A Metspalu, Andres %A Palmer, Colin %A Gasparini, Paolo %A Pirastu, Mario %A Jukema, J Wouter %A Probst-Hensch, Nicole M %A Kronenberg, Florian %A Toniolo, Daniela %A Gudnason, Vilmundur %A Shuldiner, Alan R %A Coresh, Josef %A Schmidt, Reinhold %A Ferrucci, Luigi %A Siscovick, David S %A van Duijn, Cornelia M %A Borecki, Ingrid B %A Kardia, Sharon L R %A Liu, Yongmei %A Curhan, Gary C %A Rudan, Igor %A Gyllensten, Ulf %A Wilson, James F %A Franke, Andre %A Pramstaller, Peter P %A Rettig, Rainer %A Prokopenko, Inga %A Witteman, Jacqueline %A Hayward, Caroline %A Ridker, Paul M %A Parsa, Afshin %A Bochud, Murielle %A Heid, Iris M %A Kao, W H Linda %A Fox, Caroline S %A Köttgen, Anna %K Amino Acid Transport Systems, Basic %K Antigens, CD98 Heavy Chain %K Genetic Predisposition to Disease %K Genome-Wide Association Study %K Glomerular Filtration Rate %K Humans %K Inhibin-beta Subunits %K Intracellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins %K Low Density Lipoprotein Receptor-Related Protein-2 %K Membrane Proteins %K Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide %X

In conducting genome-wide association studies (GWAS), analytical approaches leveraging biological information may further understanding of the pathophysiology of clinical traits. To discover novel associations with estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), a measure of kidney function, we developed a strategy for integrating prior biological knowledge into the existing GWAS data for eGFR from the CKDGen Consortium. Our strategy focuses on single nucleotide polymorphism (SNPs) in genes that are connected by functional evidence, determined by literature mining and gene ontology (GO) hierarchies, to genes near previously validated eGFR associations. It then requires association thresholds consistent with multiple testing, and finally evaluates novel candidates by independent replication. Among the samples of European ancestry, we identified a genome-wide significant SNP in FBXL20 (P = 5.6 × 10(-9)) in meta-analysis of all available data, and additional SNPs at the INHBC, LRP2, PLEKHA1, SLC3A2 and SLC7A6 genes meeting multiple-testing corrected significance for replication and overall P-values of 4.5 × 10(-4)-2.2 × 10(-7). Neither the novel PLEKHA1 nor FBXL20 associations, both further supported by association with eGFR among African Americans and with transcript abundance, would have been implicated by eGFR candidate gene approaches. LRP2, encoding the megalin receptor, was identified through connection with the previously known eGFR gene DAB2 and extends understanding of the megalin system in kidney function. These findings highlight integration of existing genome-wide association data with independent biological knowledge to uncover novel candidate eGFR associations, including candidates lacking known connections to kidney-specific pathways. The strategy may also be applicable to other clinical phenotypes, although more testing will be needed to assess its potential for discovery in general.

%B Hum Mol Genet %V 21 %P 5329-43 %8 2012 Dec 15 %G eng %N 24 %1 http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22962313?dopt=Abstract %R 10.1093/hmg/dds369