A transcriptome-wide association study to detect novel genes for volumetric bone mineral density

Evolutionary Genetic Signatures of Selection on Bone-Related Variation within Human and Chimpanzee Populations

Bone strength and the incidence and severity of skeletal disorders vary significantly among human populations, due in part to underlying genetic differentiation. While clinical models predict that this variation is largely deleterious, natural population variation unrelated to disease can go unnoticed, altering our perception of how natural selection has shaped bone morphologies over deep and recent time periods. Here, we conduct the first comparative population-based genetic analysis of the main bone structural protein gene, collagen type I α 1 (COL1A1), in clinical and 1000 Genomes Project datasets in humans, and in natural populations of chimpanzees. Contrary to predictions from clinical studies, we reveal abundant COL1A1 amino acid variation, predicted to have little association with disease in the natural population. We also find signatures of positive selection associated with intron haplotype structure, linkage disequilibrium, and population differentiation in regions of known gene expression regulation in humans and chimpanzees. These results recall how recent and deep evolutionary regimes can be linked, in that bone morphology differences that developed among vertebrates over 450 million years of evolution are the result of positive selection on subtle type I collagen functional variation segregating within populations over time.

Correlation research of susceptibility single nucleotide polymorphisms and the severity of clinical symptoms in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the correlation between susceptibility single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) and the severity of clinical symptoms in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), so as to supplement the clinical significance of gene polymorphism and increase our understanding of the association between genetic mutations and ADHD phenotypes.

METHODS

193 children with ADHD were included in our study from February 2017 to February 2020 in the Children's ADHD Clinic of the author's medical institution. 23 ADHD susceptibility SNPs were selected based on the literature, and multiple polymerase chain reaction (PCR) targeted capture sequencing technology was used for gene analysis. A series of ADHD-related questionnaires were used to reflect the severity of the disease, and the correlation between the SNPs of specific sites and the severity of clinical symptoms was evaluated. R software was used to search for independent risk factors by multivariate logistic regression and the "corplot" package was used for correlation analysis.

RESULTS

Among the 23 SNP loci of ADHD children, no mutation was detected in 6 loci, and 2 loci did not conform to Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium. Of the remaining 15 loci, there were 9 SNPs, rs2652511 (SLC6A3 locus), rs1410739 (OBI1-AS1 locus), rs3768046 (TIE1 locus), rs223508 (MANBA locus), rs2906457 (ST3GAL3 locus), rs4916723 (LINC00461 locus), rs9677504 (SPAG16 locus), rs1427829 (intron) and rs11210892 (intron), correlated with the severity of clinical symptoms of ADHD. Specifically, rs1410739 (OBI1-AS1 locus) was found to simultaneously affect conduct problems, control ability and abstract thinking ability of children with ADHD.

CONCLUSION

There were 9 SNPs significantly correlated with the severity of clinical symptoms in children with ADHD, and the rs1410739 (OBI1-AS1 locus) may provide a new direction for ADHD research. Our study builds on previous susceptibility research and further investigates the impact of a single SNP on the severity of clinical symptoms of ADHD. This can help improve the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of ADHD.