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Su J, Zhang J, Zhu H, Lu J. Association of anxiety disorder, depression, and bipolar disorder with autoimmune thyroiditis: A bidirectional two-sample mendelian randomized study. J Affect Disord 2024; 368:720-726. [PMID: 39313161 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.09.132] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/28/2024] [Revised: 09/18/2024] [Accepted: 09/20/2024] [Indexed: 09/25/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Anxiety disorder, depression, and bipolar disorder are common psychiatric disorders, and their association with autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) has been of great interest. This study aimed to investigate the potential causal relationship between these psychiatric disorders and AIT. METHODS We used publicly available summary statistics from large-scale genome-wide association studies to select, quality control and cluster genetic variant loci associated with anxiety disorder, depression, bipolar disorder and AIT as instrumental variables (IVs). The Mendelian randomization (MR) study mainly used inverse variance weighting (IVW) combined with MR-egger regression and weighted median estimation (WME) to estimate bidirectional causality between mental disorders and AIT. In addition, we conducted heterogeneity and multivariate tests to verify the validity of IVW. RESULTS Two-sample bidirectional MR analysis revealed a positive causal link between depression and AIT. The forward MR analysis of IVW (OR 1.614, 95 % CI 1.104-2.358, P = 0.013) and WME (OR 2.314, 95 % CI 1.315-4.074, P = 0.004) demonstrated thatdepression potentially elevate the risk of AIT development, while, our investigation did not uncover a causal relationship between anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder and AIT. The results of reverse MR analysis showed that there was no significant causal relationship between AIT and anxiety disorder, depression, and bipolar disorder (P > 0.05). CONCLUSIONS The results of the forward MR analysis suggest a positive association between depression, and AIT risk, while indicating no support for a causal link between anxiety disorder or bipolar disorder and AIT risk based on the current data. Subsequent studies will be essential for elucidating the biological mechanisms and potential confounders underlying these associations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jingyang Su
- Department of General internal medicine, Tongde Hospital Affiliated to Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Tongde Hospital of Zhejiang Province), Hangzhou 310012, China
| | - Jialin Zhang
- Department of Oncology, Hangzhou TCM Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine), 310007 Hangzhou, China
| | - Hanyu Zhu
- Department of Oncology, Hangzhou TCM Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine), 310007 Hangzhou, China
| | - Jinhua Lu
- Department of Oncology, Hangzhou TCM Hospital of Zhejiang Chinese Medical University (Hangzhou Hospital of Traditional Chinese Medicine), 310007 Hangzhou, China.
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Chen S, Tan Y, Tian L. Immunophenotypes in psychosis: is it a premature inflamm-aging disorder? Mol Psychiatry 2024; 29:2834-2848. [PMID: 38532012 PMCID: PMC11420084 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-024-02539-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/08/2022] [Revised: 03/15/2024] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 03/28/2024]
Abstract
Immunopsychiatric field has rapidly accumulated evidence demonstrating the involvement of both innate and adaptive immune components in psychotic disorders such as schizophrenia. Nevertheless, researchers are facing dilemmas of discrepant findings of immunophenotypes both outside and inside the brains of psychotic patients, as discovered by recent meta-analyses. These discrepancies make interpretations and interrogations on their roles in psychosis remain vague and even controversial, regarding whether certain immune cells are more activated or less so, and whether they are causal or consequential, or beneficial or harmful for psychosis. Addressing these issues for psychosis is not at all trivial, as immune cells either outside or inside the brain are an enormously heterogeneous and plastic cell population, falling into a vast range of lineages and subgroups, and functioning differently and malleably in context-dependent manners. This review aims to overview the currently known immunophenotypes of patients with psychosis, and provocatively suggest the premature immune "burnout" or inflamm-aging initiated since organ development as a potential primary mechanism behind these immunophenotypes and the pathogenesis of psychotic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Song Chen
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, PR China
| | - Yunlong Tan
- Peking University HuiLongGuan Clinical Medical School, Beijing Huilongguan Hospital, Beijing, PR China
| | - Li Tian
- Department of Psychology and Logopedics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
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Xiu Z, Sun L, Liu K, Cao H, Qu HQ, Glessner JT, Ding Z, Zheng G, Wang N, Xia Q, Li J, Li MJ, Hakonarson H, Liu W, Li J. Shared molecular mechanisms and transdiagnostic potential of neurodevelopmental disorders and immune disorders. Brain Behav Immun 2024; 119:767-780. [PMID: 38677625 DOI: 10.1016/j.bbi.2024.04.026] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/21/2023] [Revised: 02/27/2024] [Accepted: 04/22/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024] Open
Abstract
The co-occurrence and familial clustering of neurodevelopmental disorders and immune disorders suggest shared genetic risk factors. Based on genome-wide association summary statistics from five neurodevelopmental disorders and four immune disorders, we conducted genome-wide, local genetic correlation and polygenic overlap analysis. We further performed a cross-trait GWAS meta-analysis. Pleotropic loci shared between the two categories of diseases were mapped to candidate genes using multiple algorithms and approaches. Significant genetic correlations were observed between neurodevelopmental disorders and immune disorders, including both positive and negative correlations. Neurodevelopmental disorders exhibited higher polygenicity compared to immune disorders. Around 50%-90% of genetic variants of the immune disorders were shared with neurodevelopmental disorders. The cross-trait meta-analysis revealed 154 genome-wide significant loci, including 8 novel pleiotropic loci. Significant associations were observed for 30 loci with both types of diseases. Pathway analysis on the candidate genes at these loci revealed common pathways shared by the two types of diseases, including neural signaling, inflammatory response, and PI3K-Akt signaling pathway. In addition, 26 of the 30 lead SNPs were associated with blood cell traits. Neurodevelopmental disorders exhibit complex polygenic architecture, with a subset of individuals being at a heightened genetic risk for both neurodevelopmental and immune disorders. The identification of pleiotropic loci has important implications for exploring opportunities for drug repurposing, enabling more accurate patient stratification, and advancing genomics-informed precision in the medical field of neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhanjie Xiu
- Department of Cell Biology, The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China; Department of Bioinformatics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Ling Sun
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychology, Tianjin Anding Hospital, Mental Health Center of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Kunlun Liu
- Department of Bioinformatics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Haiyan Cao
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychology, Tianjin Anding Hospital, Mental Health Center of Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Hui-Qi Qu
- Center for Applied Genomics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Joseph T Glessner
- Center for Applied Genomics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Division of Human Genetics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Zhiyong Ding
- Mills Institute for Personalized Cancer Care, Fynn Biotechnologies Ltd., Jinan, China
| | - Gang Zheng
- National Supercomputer Center in Tianjin (NSCC-TJ), Tianjin, China
| | - Nan Wang
- Mills Institute for Personalized Cancer Care, Fynn Biotechnologies Ltd., Jinan, China
| | - Qianghua Xia
- Department of Cell Biology, The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China; Department of Bioinformatics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Jie Li
- Laboratory of Biological Psychiatry, Institute of Mental Health, Tianjin Anding Hospital, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Mulin Jun Li
- Department of Bioinformatics, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China
| | - Hakon Hakonarson
- Center for Applied Genomics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Division of Human Genetics, Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA, United States; Department of Pediatrics, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, United States.
| | - Wei Liu
- Tianjin Children's Hospital (Tianjin University Children's Hospital), Tianjin, China; Tianjin Key Laboratory of Birth Defects for Prevention and Treatment, Tianjin, China.
| | - Jin Li
- Department of Cell Biology, The Province and Ministry Co-sponsored Collaborative Innovation Center for Medical Epigenetics, Key Laboratory of Immune Microenvironment and Disease (Ministry of Education), Tianjin Key Laboratory of Medical Epigenetics, Tianjin Institute of Immunology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Tianjin Medical University, Tianjin, China; Department of Rheumatology and Immunology, Tianjin Medical University General Hospital, Tianjin, China.
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Liu YC, Liao YT, Lin KH. The relationship between schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and type 1 diabetes mellitus: a scoping review of observational studies. NEUROPSYCHIATRIE : KLINIK, DIAGNOSTIK, THERAPIE UND REHABILITATION : ORGAN DER GESELLSCHAFT OSTERREICHISCHER NERVENARZTE UND PSYCHIATER 2024:10.1007/s40211-024-00499-y. [PMID: 38833151 DOI: 10.1007/s40211-024-00499-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2024] [Accepted: 05/11/2024] [Indexed: 06/06/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Both schizophrenia and type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1D) are known as immune-related disorders. We systematically reviewed observational studies to explore the relationship between schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and T1D. METHODS A preliminary search of articles was completed using the following databases: Airiti Library, CINAHL Complete (via EBSCOhost), OVID MEDLINE, Embase, and PubMed. Two researchers independently assessed each study's quality based on Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI). A narrative review summarized the potential relationship between the two diseases. RESULTS Eleven studies were included in the final analysis. Six observational studies investigated the risk of schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder in patients with T1D. Two studies showed negative correlations, one showed no correlation, and three showed positive correlations. On the other hand, five studies reported the prevalence of T1D in patients with schizophrenia. Two of them showed positive associations, and three others showed no association. Although the majority of the included studies suggested a positive association between the two medical conditions, these studies were still too heterogeneous to draw consistent results. CONCLUSION We found conflicting results regarding the bidirectional relationship between schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder and T1D. These may stem from differences in study design, sampling methods, or definition of diagnoses, which are essential aspects to consider in future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yi-Chun Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, Changhua Christian Children's Hospital, 500, Changhua, Taiwan
- Department of Psychiatry, Changhua Christian Hospital, 500, Changhua, Taiwan
- Department of Healthcare Administration, Asia University, 413, Taichung, Taiwan
- Department of Eldercare, Central Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Yin-To Liao
- Department of Psychiatry, China Medical University and China Medical University Hospital, 413, Taichung, Taiwan
| | - Kuan-Han Lin
- Department of Healthcare Administration, Asia University, 413, Taichung, Taiwan.
- Asia University, No.500, Lioufeng Road, 41354, Taichung City, Wufeng District, Taiwan.
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Wang Y, Yao T, Lin Y, Ye L, Li S, Gao Y, Wu J. Exploring genetic associations between vitiligo and mental disorders using Mendelian randomization. Exp Dermatol 2024; 33:e14979. [PMID: 37975615 DOI: 10.1111/exd.14979] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2023] [Revised: 10/10/2023] [Accepted: 11/04/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
Although a large number of existing studies have confirmed that people with vitiligo are prone to mental disorders, these observational studies may be subject to confounding factors and reverse causality, so the true causal relationship is inconclusive. We conducted a bidirectional Mendelian randomization (MR) analysis to assess the causality between vitiligo and mental disorders, namely depression, anxiety, insomnia, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Summary statistics from large available genome-wide association study (GWAS) datasets for generalized vitiligo (n = 44 266), depression (n = 173 005), anxiety (n = 17 310), insomnia (n = 386 988), schizophrenia (n = 130 644), bipolar disorder (n = 413 466), OCD (n = 9725) and ADHD (n = 225 534) were utilized. Inverse-variance weighted (IVW), MR-Egger and weighted median were employed to estimate causal effects. Sensitivity analysis and MR Pleiotropy Residual Sum and Outliers (MR PRESSO) were conducted to assess heterogeneity and pleiotropy, ensuring the robustness of the results. Additionally, we corrected for estimating bias that might be brought on by sample overlap using MRlap. In our findings, none of the rigorous bidirectional MR analyses uncovered a significant causal association. Even after applying the MRlap correction, the effect sizes remained statistically nonsignificant, thereby reinforcing the conclusions drawn via IVW. In summary, our genetic-level investigation did not reveal a causal link between generalized vitiligo and mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingwei Wang
- Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Tao Yao
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Yunlu Lin
- Department of Cardiology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Lili Ye
- Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Shuting Li
- Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Yu Gao
- Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
| | - Jianming Wu
- Department of Dermatology, The Second Affiliated Hospital and Yuying Children's Hospital of Wenzhou Medical University, Wenzhou, China
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Nudel R, Allesøe RL, Werge T, Thompson WK, Rasmussen S, Benros ME. An immunogenetic investigation of 30 autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases and their links to psychiatric disorders in a nationwide sample. Immunology 2023; 168:622-639. [PMID: 36273265 DOI: 10.1111/imm.13597] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 10/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Autoimmune and autoinflammatory diseases (AIIDs) involve a deficit in an individual's immune system function, whereby the immune reaction is directed against self-antigens. Many AIIDs have a strong genetic component, but they can also be triggered by environmental factors. AIIDs often have a highly negative impact on the individual's physical and mental wellbeing. Understanding the genetic underpinning of AIIDs is thus crucial both for diagnosis and for identifying individuals at high risk of an AIID and mental illness as a result thereof. The aim of the present study was to perform systematic statistical and genetic analyses to assess the role of human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles in 30 AIIDs and to study the links between AIIDs and psychiatric disorders. We leveraged the Danish iPSYCH Consortium sample comprising 65 534 individuals diagnosed with psychiatric disorders or selected as part of a random population sample, for whom we also had genetic data and diagnoses of AIIDs. We employed regression analysis to examine comorbidities between AIIDs and psychiatric disorders and associations between AIIDs and HLA alleles across seven HLA genes. Our comorbidity analyses showed that overall AIID and five specific AIIDs were associated with having a psychiatric diagnosis. Our genetic analyses found 81 significant associations between HLA alleles and AIIDs. Lastly, we show connections across AIIDs, psychiatric disorders and infection susceptibility through network analysis of significant HLA associations in these disease classes. Combined, our results include both novel associations as well as replications of previously reported associations in a large sample, and highlight the genetic and epidemiological links between AIIDs and psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ron Nudel
- CORE-Copenhagen Research Centre for Mental Health, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
- iPSYCH, The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Aarhus, Denmark
| | - Rosa Lundbye Allesøe
- CORE-Copenhagen Research Centre for Mental Health, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
- iPSYCH, The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Aarhus, Denmark
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Thomas Werge
- iPSYCH, The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Aarhus, Denmark
- Institute of Biological Psychiatry, Mental Health Centre Sct. Hans, Mental Health Services Copenhagen, Roskilde, Denmark
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Wesley K Thompson
- iPSYCH, The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Aarhus, Denmark
- Institute of Biological Psychiatry, Mental Health Centre Sct. Hans, Mental Health Services Copenhagen, Roskilde, Denmark
- Division of Biostatistics, Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California, San Diego, California, USA
| | - Simon Rasmussen
- Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Protein Research, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | - Michael E Benros
- CORE-Copenhagen Research Centre for Mental Health, Mental Health Centre Copenhagen, Copenhagen University Hospital, Copenhagen, Denmark
- iPSYCH, The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Immunology and Microbiology, Faculty of Health and Medical Sciences, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
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Glanville KP, Coleman JRI, O'Reilly PF, Galloway J, Lewis CM. Investigating Pleiotropy Between Depression and Autoimmune Diseases Using the UK Biobank. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY GLOBAL OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 1:48-58. [PMID: 34278373 PMCID: PMC8262258 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsgos.2021.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2021] [Accepted: 03/05/2021] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Epidemiological studies report increased comorbidity between depression and autoimmune diseases. The role of shared genetic influences in the observed comorbidity is unclear. We investigated the evidence for pleiotropy between these traits in the UK Biobank (UKB). Methods We defined autoimmune and depression cases using hospital episode statistics, self-reported conditions and medications, and mental health questionnaires. Pairwise comparisons of depression prevalence between autoimmune cases and controls, and vice versa, were performed. Cross-trait polygenic risk score (PRS) analyses tested for pleiotropy, i.e., whether PRSs for depression could predict autoimmune disease status, and vice versa. Results We identified 28,479 cases of autoimmune diseases (pooling across 14 traits) and 324,074 autoimmune controls, and 65,075 cases of depression and 232,552 depression controls. The prevalence of depression was significantly higher in autoimmune cases than in controls, and similarly, the prevalence of autoimmune disease was higher in depression cases than in controls. PRSs for myasthenia gravis and psoriasis were significantly higher in depression cases than in controls (p < 5.2 × 10-5, R 2 ≤ 0.04%). PRSs for depression were significantly higher in inflammatory bowel disease, psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 1 diabetes cases than in controls (p < 5.8 × 10-5, R 2 range = 0.06%-0.27%), and lower in celiac disease cases than in controls (p < 5.4 × 10-7, R 2 range = 0.11%-0.15%). Conclusions Consistent with the literature, depression was more common in individuals with autoimmune diseases than in controls, and vice versa. PRSs showed some evidence for involvement of shared genetic factors, but the modest R 2 values suggest that shared genetic architecture accounts for a small proportion of the increased risk across traits.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kylie P Glanville
- Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan R I Coleman
- Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.,NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Paul F O'Reilly
- Department Genetics and Genomic Sciences, Icahn School of Medicine, Mount Sinai, New York, New York
| | - James Galloway
- Department of Inflammation Biology, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Cathryn M Lewis
- Social Genetic and Developmental Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.,NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, South London and Maudsley NHS Trust, King's College London, London, United Kingdom.,Department of Medical and Molecular Genetics, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
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A large-scale investigation into the role of classical HLA loci in multiple types of severe infections, with a focus on overlaps with autoimmune and mental disorders. J Transl Med 2021; 19:230. [PMID: 34059071 PMCID: PMC8165335 DOI: 10.1186/s12967-021-02888-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/21/2021] [Accepted: 05/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Infections are a major disease burden worldwide. While they are caused by external pathogens, host genetics also plays a part in susceptibility to infections. Past studies have reported diverse associations between human leukocyte antigen (HLA) alleles and infections, but many were limited by small sample sizes and/or focused on only one infection. Methods We performed an immunogenetic association study examining 13 categories of severe infection (bacterial, viral, central nervous system, gastrointestinal, genital, hepatitis, otitis, pregnancy-related, respiratory, sepsis, skin infection, urological and other infections), as well as a phenotype for having any infection, and seven classical HLA loci (HLA-A, B, C, DPB1, DQA1, DQB1 and DRB1). Additionally, we examined associations between infections and specific alleles highlighted in our previous studies of psychiatric disorders and autoimmune disease, as these conditions are known to be linked to infections. Results Associations between HLA loci and infections were generally not strong. Highlighted associations included associations between DQB1*0302 and DQB1*0604 and viral infections (P = 0.002835 and P = 0.014332, respectively), DQB1*0503 and sepsis (P = 0.006053), and DQA1*0301 with “other” infections (a category which includes infections not included in our main categories e.g. protozoan infections) (P = 0.000369). Some HLA alleles implicated in autoimmune diseases showed association with susceptibility to infections, but the latter associations were generally weaker, or with opposite trends (in the case of HLA-C alleles, but not with alleles of HLA class II genes). HLA alleles associated with psychiatric disorders did not show association with susceptibility to infections. Conclusions Our results suggest that classical HLA alleles do not play a large role in the etiology of severe infections. The discordant association trends with autoimmune disease for some alleles could contribute to mechanistic theories of disease etiology. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12967-021-02888-1.
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Genome-wide association study identifies 16 genomic regions associated with circulating cytokines at birth. PLoS Genet 2020; 16:e1009163. [PMID: 33227023 PMCID: PMC7721185 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pgen.1009163] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/17/2020] [Revised: 12/07/2020] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Circulating inflammatory markers are essential to human health and disease, and they are often dysregulated or malfunctioning in cancers as well as in cardiovascular, metabolic, immunologic and neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the genetic contribution to the physiological variation of levels of circulating inflammatory markers is largely unknown. Here we report the results of a genome-wide genetic study of blood concentration of ten cytokines, including the hitherto unexplored calcium-binding protein (S100B). The study leverages a unique sample of neonatal blood spots from 9,459 Danish subjects from the iPSYCH initiative. We estimate the SNP-heritability of marker levels as ranging from essentially zero for Erythropoietin (EPO) up to 73% for S100B. We identify and replicate 16 associated genomic regions (p < 5 x 10−9), of which four are novel. We show that the associated variants map to enhancer elements, suggesting a possible transcriptional effect of genomic variants on the cytokine levels. The identification of the genetic architecture underlying the basic levels of cytokines is likely to prompt studies investigating the relationship between cytokines and complex disease. Our results also suggest that the genetic architecture of cytokines is stable from neonatal to adult life. Inflammation is a complex process which involves different mechanisms on both the molecular and physiological levels. It is known to play a key role in a diverse group of conditions, including cancers, metabolic and cardiovascular disease, allergies, autoimmune disease, and, in some cases, neurological and psychiatric disorders as well. Studying circulating cytokine marker levels in blood is crucial to the understanding of the disease mechanism and its relation to the inflammatory response. In this study we perform large-scale analyses (N = 9,459) to investigate the genetic underpinnings of the variation in the levels of ten different cytokines at five to seven days after birth. We show that they can be distinguished by the level to which they are genetically determined, and we find 16 genetic loci (of which 4 are novel) which are significantly associated with markers’ levels in blood. We additionally map the discovered loci to locations in the genome that are involved in gene regulation, thereby providing a plausible functional mechanism. We contrast our results with previous studies using adult samples and show that the genetic control of markers levels may be stable over an individual’s lifespan. These results are informative not only at the basic-research level, but also at a clinical level, as these markers are routinely used in diagnostic procedures without necessarily taking into account the individual’s genetic makeup.
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