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Zamariolli M, Auwerx C, Sadler MC, van der Graaf A, Lepik K, Schoeler T, Moysés-Oliveira M, Dantas AG, Melaragno MI, Kutalik Z. The impact of 22q11.2 copy-number variants on human traits in the general population. Am J Hum Genet 2023; 110:300-313. [PMID: 36706759 PMCID: PMC9943723 DOI: 10.1016/j.ajhg.2023.01.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 01/27/2023] Open
Abstract
While extensively studied in clinical cohorts, the phenotypic consequences of 22q11.2 copy-number variants (CNVs) in the general population remain understudied. To address this gap, we performed a phenome-wide association scan in 405,324 unrelated UK Biobank (UKBB) participants by using CNV calls from genotyping array. We mapped 236 Human Phenotype Ontology terms linked to any of the 90 genes encompassed by the region to 170 UKBB traits and assessed the association between these traits and the copy-number state of 504 genotyping array probes in the region. We found significant associations for eight continuous and nine binary traits associated under different models (duplication-only, deletion-only, U-shape, and mirror models). The causal effect of the expression level of 22q11.2 genes on associated traits was assessed through transcriptome-wide Mendelian randomization (TWMR), revealing that increased expression of ARVCF increased BMI. Similarly, increased DGCR6 expression causally reduced mean platelet volume, in line with the corresponding CNV effect. Furthermore, cross-trait multivariable Mendelian randomization (MVMR) suggested a predominant role of genuine (horizontal) pleiotropy in the CNV region. Our findings show that within the general population, 22q11.2 CNVs are associated with traits previously linked to genes in the region, and duplications and deletions act upon traits in different fashions. We also showed that gain or loss of distinct segments within 22q11.2 may impact a trait under different association models. Our results have provided new insights to help further the understanding of the complex 22q11.2 region.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malú Zamariolli
- Genetics Division, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil; Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Chiara Auwerx
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland; University Center for Primary Care and Public Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Center for Integrative Genomics, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marie C Sadler
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland; University Center for Primary Care and Public Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | | | - Kaido Lepik
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Tabea Schoeler
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, London, UK
| | | | - Anelisa G Dantas
- Genetics Division, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | | | - Zoltán Kutalik
- Department of Computational Biology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland; Swiss Institute of Bioinformatics, Lausanne, Switzerland; University Center for Primary Care and Public Health, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland.
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