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Winkler TW, Grassmann F, Brandl C, Kiel C, Günther F, Strunz T, Weidner L, Zimmermann ME, Korb CA, Poplawski A, Schuster AK, Müller-Nurasyid M, Peters A, Rauscher FG, Elze T, Horn K, Scholz M, Cañadas-Garre M, McKnight AJ, Quinn N, Hogg RE, Küchenhoff H, Heid IM, Stark KJ, Weber BHF. Genome-wide association meta-analysis for early age-related macular degeneration highlights novel loci and insights for advanced disease. BMC Med Genomics 2020; 13:120. [PMID: 32843070 PMCID: PMC7449002 DOI: 10.1186/s12920-020-00760-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/16/2019] [Accepted: 08/04/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Advanced age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is a leading cause of blindness. While around half of the genetic contribution to advanced AMD has been uncovered, little is known about the genetic architecture of early AMD. METHODS To identify genetic factors for early AMD, we conducted a genome-wide association study (GWAS) meta-analysis (14,034 cases, 91,214 controls, 11 sources of data including the International AMD Genomics Consortium, IAMDGC, and UK Biobank, UKBB). We ascertained early AMD via color fundus photographs by manual grading for 10 sources and via an automated machine learning approach for > 170,000 photographs from UKBB. We searched for early AMD loci via GWAS and via a candidate approach based on 14 previously suggested early AMD variants. RESULTS Altogether, we identified 10 independent loci with statistical significance for early AMD: (i) 8 from our GWAS with genome-wide significance (P < 5 × 10- 8), (ii) one previously suggested locus with experiment-wise significance (P < 0.05/14) in our non-overlapping data and with genome-wide significance when combining the reported and our non-overlapping data (together 17,539 cases, 105,395 controls), and (iii) one further previously suggested locus with experiment-wise significance in our non-overlapping data. Of these 10 identified loci, 8 were novel and 2 known for early AMD. Most of the 10 loci overlapped with known advanced AMD loci (near ARMS2/HTRA1, CFH, C2, C3, CETP, TNFRSF10A, VEGFA, APOE), except two that have not yet been identified with statistical significance for any AMD. Among the 17 genes within these two loci, in-silico functional annotation suggested CD46 and TYR as the most likely responsible genes. Presence or absence of an early AMD effect distinguished the known pathways of advanced AMD genetics (complement/lipid pathways versus extracellular matrix metabolism). CONCLUSIONS Our GWAS on early AMD identified novel loci, highlighted shared and distinct genetics between early and advanced AMD and provides insights into AMD etiology. Our data provide a resource comparable in size to the existing IAMDGC data on advanced AMD genetics enabling a joint view. The biological relevance of this joint view is underscored by the ability of early AMD effects to differentiate the major pathways for advanced AMD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas W Winkler
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany.
| | - Felix Grassmann
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Department of Medical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden
- Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK
| | - Caroline Brandl
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Christina Kiel
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Felix Günther
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Statistical Consulting Unit StaBLab, Department of Statistics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Tobias Strunz
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Lorraine Weidner
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Martina E Zimmermann
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Christina A Korb
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Alicia Poplawski
- Institute for Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Alexander K Schuster
- Department of Ophthalmology, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
| | - Martina Müller-Nurasyid
- Institute for Medical Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, University Medical Center of the Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Mainz, Germany
- Institute of Genetic Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München, German Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
- Department of Internal Medicine I (Cardiology), Hospital of the Ludwig-Maximilians-University (LMU) Munich, Munich, Germany
- Genetic Epidemiology, IBE, Faculty of Medicine, LMU Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Annette Peters
- German Center for Diabetes Research (DZD), Neuherberg, Germany
- Institute of Epidemiology, Helmholtz Zentrum München Research Center for Environmental Health, Neuherberg, Germany
| | - Franziska G Rauscher
- Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases (LIFE), Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics, and Epidemiology (IMISE), Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Tobias Elze
- Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases (LIFE), Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Schepens Eye Research Institute, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Katrin Horn
- Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases (LIFE), Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics, and Epidemiology (IMISE), Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Markus Scholz
- Leipzig Research Centre for Civilization Diseases (LIFE), Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
- Institute for Medical Informatics, Statistics, and Epidemiology (IMISE), Leipzig University, Leipzig, Germany
| | | | | | - Nicola Quinn
- Centre for Public Health, Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Ruth E Hogg
- Centre for Public Health, Queen's University of Belfast, Belfast, UK
| | - Helmut Küchenhoff
- Statistical Consulting Unit StaBLab, Department of Statistics, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität Munich, Munich, Germany
| | - Iris M Heid
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Klaus J Stark
- Department of Genetic Epidemiology, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
| | - Bernhard H F Weber
- Institute of Human Genetics, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
- Institute of Clinical Human Genetics, University Hospital Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany
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