Genome-wide analysis of polymorphism × sodium interaction effect on blood pressure identifies a novel 3'-BCL11B gene desert locus

Healthy lifestyle practice correlates with decreased obesity prevalence in individuals with high polygenic risk: TMM CommCohort study

Obesity and overweight, fundamental components of the metabolic syndrome, predispose individuals to lifestyle-related diseases. The extent to which adopting healthy lifestyles can reduce obesity risk, even in those with a high genetic risk, remains uncertain. Our aim was to assess the extent to which lifestyle modifications can improve outcomes in individuals with a high polygenic score (PGS) for obesity. We quantified the genetic risk of obesity using PGSs. Four datasets from the Tohoku Medical Megabank Community-Based Cohort (TMM CommCohort) were employed in the study. One dataset (n = 9958) was used to select the best model for calculating PGS. The remaining datasets (total n = 69,341) were used in a meta-analysis to validate the model and to evaluate associated risks. The odds ratio (OR) for obesity risk in the intermediate (11th-90th percentiles in the dataset) and high PGS categories (91st-100th) was 2.27 [95% confidence intervals: 2.12-2.44] and 4.83 [4.45-5.25], respectively, compared to that in the low PGS category (1st-10th). Trend analysis showed that an increase in leisure-time physical activity was significantly associated with reduced obesity risk across all genetic risk categories, representing an OR of 0.9 [0.87-0.94] even among individuals in the high PGS category. Similarly, sodium intake displayed a positive association with obesity across all genetic risk categories, yielding an OR of 1.24 [1.17-1.31] in the high PGS category. The risk of obesity was linked to the adoption of healthy lifestyles, even in individuals with high PGS. Our results may provide perspectives for integrating PGSs into preventive medicine.

Genetic Variance in Heparan Sulfation Is Associated With Salt Sensitivity

BACKGROUND

High heritability of salt sensitivity suggests an essential role for genetics in the relationship between sodium intake and blood pressure (BP). The role of glycosaminoglycan genes, which are crucial for salinity tolerance, remains to be elucidated.

METHODS

Interactions between 54 126 variants in 130 glycosaminoglycan genes and daily sodium excretion on BP were explored in 20 420 EPIC-Norfolk (European Prospective Investigation Into Cancer in Norfolk) subjects. The UK Biobank (n=414 132) and the multiethnic HELIUS study (Healthy Life in an Urban Setting; n=2239) were used for validation. Afterward, the urinary glycosaminoglycan composition was studied in HELIUS participants (n=57) stratified by genotype and upon dietary sodium loading in a time-controlled crossover intervention study (n=12).

RESULTS

rs2892799 in NDST3 (heparan sulfate N-deacetylase/N-sulfotransferase 3) showed the strongest interaction with sodium on mean arterial pressure (false discovery rate 0.03), with higher mean arterial pressure for the C allele in high sodium conditions. Also, rs9654628 in HS3ST5 (heparan sulfate-glucosamine 3-sulfotransferase 5) showed an interaction with sodium on systolic BP (false discovery rate 0.03). These interactions were multiethnically validated. Stratifying for the rs2892799 genotype showed higher urinary expression of N-sulfated heparan sulfate epitope D0S0 for the T allele. Conversely, upon dietary sodium loading, urinary D0S0 expression was higher in participants with stable BP after sodium loading, and sodium-induced effects on this epitope were opposite in individuals with and without BP response to sodium.

CONCLUSIONS

The C allele of rs2892799 in NDST3 exhibits higher BP in high sodium conditions when compared with low sodium conditions, whereas no differences were detected for the T allele. Concomitantly, both alleles demonstrate distinct expressions of D0S0, which, in turn, correlates with sodium-mediated BP elevation. These findings underscore the potential significance of genetic glycosaminoglycan variation in human BP regulation.

Development and validation of genome-wide polygenic risk scores for predicting breast cancer incidence in Japanese females: a population-based case-cohort study

PURPOSE

This study aimed to develop an ancestry-specific polygenic risk scores (PRSs) for the prediction of breast cancer events in Japanese females and validate it in a longitudinal cohort study.

METHODS

Using publicly available summary statistics of female breast cancer genome-wide association study (GWAS) of Japanese and European ancestries, we, respectively, developed 31 candidate genome-wide PRSs using pruning and thresholding (P + T) and LDpred methods with varying parameters. Among the candidate PRS models, the best model was selected using a case-cohort dataset (63 breast cancer cases and 2213 sub-cohorts of Japanese females during a median follow-up of 11.9 years) according to the maximal predictive ability by Harrell's C-statistics. The best-performing PRS for each derivation GWAS was evaluated in another independent case-cohort dataset (260 breast cancer cases and 7845 sub-cohorts of Japanese females during a median follow-up of 16.9 years).

RESULTS

For the best PRS model involving 46,861 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs; P + T method with P_T = 0.05 and R² = 0.2) derived from Japanese-ancestry GWAS, the Harrell's C-statistic was 0.598 ± 0.018 in the evaluation dataset. The age-adjusted hazard ratio for breast cancer in females with the highest PRS quintile compared with those in the lowest PRS quintile was 2.47 (95% confidence intervals, 1.64-3.70). The PRS constructed using Japanese-ancestry GWAS demonstrated better predictive performance for breast cancer in Japanese females than that using European-ancestry GWAS (Harrell's C-statistics 0.598 versus 0.586).

CONCLUSION

This study developed a breast cancer PRS for Japanese females and demonstrated the usefulness of the PRS for breast cancer risk stratification.

Advances in Genomics Research of Blood Pressure Responses to Dietary Sodium and Potassium Intakes

More than half of US adults have hypertension by 40 years of age and a subsequent increase in atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk. Dietary sodium and potassium are intricately linked to the pathophysiology of hypertension. However, blood pressure responses to dietary sodium and potassium, phenomena known as salt and potassium sensitivity of blood pressure, respectively, are heterogenous and normally distributed in the general population. Like blood pressure, salt and potassium sensitivity are complex phenotypes, and previous research has shown that up to 75% of individuals experience a blood pressure change in response to such dietary minerals. Previous research has also implicated both high salt sensitivity and low salt sensitivity (or salt resistance) of blood pressure to an increased risk of hypertension and potentially atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease risk. Given the clinical challenges required to accurately measure the sodium and potassium response phenotypes, genomic characterization of these traits has become of interest for hypertension prevention initiatives on both the individual and population levels. Here, we review advances in human genomics research of blood pressure responses to dietary sodium and potassium by focusing on 3 main areas, including the phenotypic characterization of salt sensitivity and resistance, clinical challenges in diagnosing such phenotypes, and the genomic mechanisms that may help to explain salt and potassium sensitivity and resistance. Through this process, we hope to further underline the value of leveraging genomics and broader multiomics for characterizing the blood pressure response to sodium and potassium to improve precision in lifestyle approaches for primordial and primary atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease prevention.

Bcl11b/Ctip2 in Skin, Tooth, and Craniofacial System

Ctip2/Bcl11b is a zinc finger transcription factor with dual action (repression/activation) that couples epigenetic regulation to gene transcription during the development of various tissues. It is involved in a variety of physiological responses under healthy and pathological conditions. Its role and mechanisms of action are best characterized in the immune and nervous systems. Furthermore, its implication in the development and homeostasis of other various tissues has also been reported. In the present review, we describe its role in skin development, adipogenesis, tooth formation and cranial suture ossification. Experimental data from several studies demonstrate the involvement of Bcl11b in the control of the balance between cell proliferation and differentiation during organ formation and repair, and more specifically in the context of stem cell self-renewal and fate determination. The impact of mutations in the coding sequences of Bcl11b on the development of diseases such as craniosynostosis is also presented. Finally, we discuss genome-wide association studies that suggest a potential influence of single nucleotide polymorphisms found in the 3’ regulatory region of Bcl11b on the homeostasis of the cardiovascular system.

ALDH2 genotype modulates the association between alcohol consumption and AST/ALT ratio among middle-aged Japanese men: a genome-wide G × E interaction analysis

Liver tests (LT), especially to measure AST, ALT and GGT levels, are widely used to evaluate the risk of alcohol-related liver disease (ALD). In this study, we investigated the potential genetic factors that modulate the association between LTs and alcohol consumption. We conducted a genome-wide interaction meta-analysis in 7856 Japanese subjects from Tohoku Medical Megabank Community-Based Cohort (TMM CommCohort) study recruited in 2013, and identified 2 loci (12q24 and 2p16) with genome-wide significance (P > 5 × 10-8). The significant variants in the 12q24 included rs671, a variant associated with alcohol intolerance and located at a coding exon of ALDH2. We found that the amount of alcohol consumption was associated with increased level AST/ALT ratio among the subjects with the rs671 GA genotype. The elevated AST/ALT ratio among subjects with moderate-to-high levels of drinking behavior and the rs671 GA genotype was due to decreased levels of ALT, which was not accompanied with significant differences in AST levels. Although the interaction effect was significant in both men and women, the effect was much larger in men. Our results suggest that the impact of alcohol consumption on LT varies according to the ALDH2 genotype, providing an insight for the accurate screening of ALD in drinkers with the rs671 GA genotype.

Genome-Wide Polygenic Score and the Risk of Ischemic Stroke in a Prospective Cohort

Background and Purpose—

Environmental and genetic factors contribute to the development of ischemic stroke (IS). We recently developed a genome-wide polygenic risk score (PRS) for IS using case-control datasets from 4 large-scale observational studies conducted in Japan. Our objective in the present study was to confirm the association between the PRS and the risk of IS with data from an independent prospective cohort recruited from the general Japanese population.

Methods—

A total of 3038 subjects aged ≥40 years were followed up for 10 years (2002–2012). The genome-wide PRS was calculated using genotype data from >350 000 single-nucleotide polymorphisms. The PRS levels were divided into quintiles. High and low genetic risk groups were defined as top 60% and bottom 40% of PRS, respectively. The hazard ratio (HR) for the development of IS was estimated using a Cox proportional hazards model.

Results—

During the follow-up period, 91 cases developed first-ever IS. The age- and sex-adjusted HR for IS increased with higher PRS levels ( P for trend, 0.03). Subjects with the highest quintile level of PRS had a 2.44-fold (95% CI, 1.16–5.12) greater risk for IS than those with the lowest quintile level after adjusting for age and sex. A similar association was observed after adjusting for environmental risk factors ( P for trend, 0.03). As compared with low genetic risk group, the age- and sex-adjusted HR in high genetic risk group was 1.63 (95% CI, 1.04–2.55), which was comparable to the HR of hypertension (HR, 1.41), diabetes mellitus (HR, 1.72), and smoking (HR, 1.54). The age- and sex-adjusted HR increased with the number of environmental risk factors in both high and low genetic risk groups without significant interaction.

Conclusions—

A high genome-wide PRS was a significant risk factor for IS independent of environmental risk factors in a general Japanese population. This finding suggests that PRS may be useful to identify individuals at a high risk of IS.

Study Profile of the Tohoku Medical Megabank Community-Based Cohort Study

Background

We established a community-based cohort study to assess the long-term impact of the Great East Japan Earthquake on disaster victims and gene-environment interactions on the incidence of major diseases, such as cancer and cardiovascular diseases.

Methods

We asked participants to join our cohort in the health check-up settings and assessment center based settings. Inclusion criteria were aged 20 years or over and living in Miyagi or Iwate Prefecture. We obtained information on lifestyle, effect of disaster, blood, and urine information (Type 1 survey), and some detailed measurements (Type 2 survey), such as carotid echography and calcaneal ultrasound bone mineral density. All participants agreed to measure genome information and to distribute their information widely.

Results

As a result, 87,865 gave their informed consent to join our study. Participation rate at health check-up site was about 70%. The participants in the Type 1 survey were more likely to have psychological distress than those in the Type 2 survey, and women were more likely to have psychological distress than men. Additionally, coastal residents were more likely to have higher degrees of psychological distress than inland residents, regardless of sex.

Conclusion

This cohort comprised a large sample size and it contains information on the natural disaster, genome information, and metabolome information. This cohort also had several detailed measurements. Using this cohort enabled us to clarify the long-term effect of the disaster and also to establish personalized prevention based on genome, metabolome, and other omics information.

Efficiency score from data envelopment analysis can predict the future onset of hypertension and dyslipidemia: A cohort study

Primary prevention focuses on ensuring that healthy people remain healthy. As it is practically difficult to provide intervention for an entire healthy population, it is essential to identify and target the at risk of risks population. We aimed to distinguish at risk of risks population using data envelopment analysis (DEA). Efficiency score was calculated from the DEA using a cohort sample and its association with the onset of hypertension and dyslipidemia was analyzed. A stratification analysis was performed according to the number of conventional risk factors in participants. The adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of the incidence of hypertension and dyslipidemia according to a 0.1-point increase in efficiency score were 0.66 (90% confidence interval [CI] 0.55–0.78, p < 0.0001) and 0.84 (90% CI 0.75–0.94, p = 0.01), respectively. In the stratification analysis, aOR of the incidence of hypertension according to a 0.1-point increase in efficiency score was 0.57 (90% CI 0.37–0.89, p = 0.04) in participants with no conventional risk factors. Participants with lower efficiency score were suggested to be at high risk for future onset of hypertension and dyslipidemia. The DEA might enable us to identify the risk of hypertension where conventional methods might fail.

GWAS of habitual coffee consumption reveals a sex difference in the genetic effect of the 12q24 locus in the Japanese population

Background

Studies on genetic effects of coffee consumption are scarce for Asian populations. We conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of habitual coffee consumption in Japan using a self-reporting online survey.

Results

Candidate genetic loci associated with habitual coffee consumption were searched within a discovery cohort (N = 6,264) and confirmed in a replication cohort (N = 5,975). Two loci achieved genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10^− 8) in a meta-analysis of the discovery and replication cohorts: an Asian population-specific 12q24 (rs79105258; P = 9.5 × 10^− 15), which harbors CUX2, and 7p21 (rs10252701; P = 1.0 × 10^− 14), in the upstream region of the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AHR) gene, involved in caffeine metabolism. Subgroup analysis revealed a stronger genetic effect of the 12q24 locus in males (P for interaction = 8.2 × 10^− 5). Further, rs79105258 at the 12q24 locus exerted pleiotropic effects on body mass index (P = 3.5 × 10^− 4) and serum triglyceride levels (P = 8.7 × 10^− 3).

Conclusions

Our results consolidate the association of habitual coffee consumption with the 12q24 and 7p21 loci. The different effects of the 12q24 locus between males and females are a novel finding that improves our understanding of genetic influences on habitual coffee consumption.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (10.1186/s12863-019-0763-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.