Biology subjects

Magnusson, P. K.

Publications and source records attributed to Magnusson, P. K..

4 recordsLinked to original sources

bioRxiv2021

Within-sibship GWAS improve estimates of direct genetic effects

Estimates from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) represent a combination of the effect of inherited genetic variation (direct effects), demography (population stratification, assortative mating) and genetic nurture from relatives (indirect genetic effects). GWAS using family-based designs can control for demography and indirect genetic effects, but large-scale family datasets have been lacking. We combined data on 159,701 siblings from 17 cohorts to generate population (between-family) and within-sibship (within-family) estimates of genome-wide genetic associations for 25 phenotypes. We demonstrate that existing GWAS associations for height, educational attainment, smoking, depressive symptoms, age at first birth and cognitive ability overestimate direct effects. We show that estimates of SNP-heritability, genetic correlations and Mendelian randomization involving these phenotypes substantially differ when calculated using within-sibship estimates. For example, genetic correlations between educational attainment and height largely disappear. In contrast, analyses of most clinical phenotypes (e.g. LDL-cholesterol) were generally consistent between population and within-sibship models. We also report compelling evidence of polygenic adaptation on taller human height using within-sibship data. Large-scale family datasets provide new opportunities to quantify direct effects of genetic variation on human traits and diseases.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2020

Facets of individual-specific health signatures determined from longitudinal plasma proteome profiling

BackgroundPrecision medicine approaches aim to tackle diseases on an individual level through molecular profiling. Despite the growing knowledge about diseases and the reported diversity of molecular phenotypes, the descriptions of human health on an individual level have been far less elaborate. MethodsTo provide insights into the longitudinal protein signatures of well-being, we profiled blood plasma collected over one year from 101 clinically healthy individuals using multiplexed antibody assays. After applying an antibody validation scheme, we utilized > 700 protein profiles for in-depth analyses of the individuals short-term health trajectories. FindingsWe found signatures of circulating proteomes to be highly individual-specific. Considering technical and longitudinal variability, we observed both stable and fluctuating proteins in the circulation, as well as networks of proteins that covaried over time. For each participant, there were unique protein profiles and some of these could be explained by associations to genetic variants. InterpretationThis study demonstrates that there was noticeable diversity among clinically healthy subjects, and facets of individual-specific signatures emerged by monitoring the variability of the circulating proteomes over time. Longitudinal profiling of circulating proteomes has the potential to enable a more personal hence precise assessment of health states, and thereby provide a valuable component of precision medicine approaches. FundingThis work was supported by the Erling Persson Foundation for the KTH Centre for Precision Medicine and the Swedish Heart and Lung Foundation for the SCAPIS project. We also acknowledge the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation for funding the Human Protein Atlas project, Science for Life Laboratory for Plasma Profiling Facility, and the Swedish Research Council (Grant no 2017-00641).

biochemistry↗

bioRxiv2018

Genetic variation in the Major Histocompatibility Complex and association with depression

BackgroundThe prevalence of depression is higher in individuals suffering from autoimmune diseases, but the mechanisms underlying the observed comorbidities are unknown. Epidemiological findings point to a bi-directional relationship - that depression increases the risk of developing an autoimmune disease, and vice-versa. Shared genetic etiology is a plausible explanation for the overlap between depression and autoimmune diseases. In this study we tested whether genetic variation in the Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC), which is associated with risk for autoimmune diseases, is also associated with risk for depression.\n\nMethodWe fine-mapped the classical MHC (chr6: 29.6-33.1 Mb), imputing 216 Human Leukocyte Antigen (HLA) alleles and four Complement Component 4 (C4) haplotypes in studies from the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC) Major Depressive Disorder (MDD) working group and the UK Biobank (UKB). In the 26 PGC-MDD studies, cases met a lifetime diagnosis of MDD, determined by a structured diagnostic interview. In the UKB, cases and controls were identified from an online mental health questionnaire. The total sample size was 45,149 depression cases and 86,698 controls. We tested for association between depression status and imputed MHC variants in each study and performed an inverse-variance weighted meta-analysis across the PGC-MDD and UKB samples, applying both a conservative region-wide significance threshold (3.9-e6) and a candidate threshold (1.6e-4).\n\nResultsNo HLA alleles or C4 haplotypes were associated with depression at the conservative threshold in the PGC, UKB or meta-analysis. HLA-B*08:01 was associated with modest protection for depression at the candidate threshold in the meta-analysis. Under the conservative threshold, 70 SNPs were detected in the UKB and 143 SNPs were detected in the meta-analysis, mirroring previous findings from highly powered GWAS of depression.\n\nDiscussionWe found no evidence that HLA alleles, which play a major role in the genetic susceptibility to autoimmune diseases, or C4 haplotypes, which are strongly associated with schizophrenia, confer risk for depression. These results indicate that autoimmune diseases and depression do not share common risk loci of moderate or large effect in the MHC.

genetics↗

bioRxiv2018

Genome-wide CNV study and functional evaluation identified CTDSPL as tumour suppressor gene for cervical cancer

We have investigated copy number variations (CNVs) in relation to cervical cancer by analyzing 731,422 single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in 1,034 cervical cancer cases and 3,948 controls, followed by replication in 1,396 cases and 1,057 controls. We found that a 6367bp deletion in intron 1 of the CTD small phosphatase like gene (CTDSPL) was associated with 2.54-fold increased risk of cervical cancer (odds ratio =2.54, 95% confidence interval =2.08-3.12, P=2.0x10-19). This CNV is one of the strongest genetic risk variants identified so far for cervical cancer. The deletion removes the binding sites of zinc finger protein 263, binding protein 2 and interferon regulatory factor 1, and hence downregulates the transcription of CTDSPL. HeLa cells expressing CTDSPL showed a significant decrease in colony-forming ability. Compared with control groups, mice injected with HeLa cells expressing CTDSPL exhibited a significant reduction in tumour volume. Furthermore, CTDSPL-depleted immortalized End1/E6E7 could form tumours in NOD-SCID mice.

cancer biology↗