To the degree that the transcriptome is a reflection of the local and temporal environment, it could be argued that eQTLs identified in generic studies will have little value for enhancing understanding of complex trait studies unless eQTLs are identified in relevant tissues of the individuals participating in the complex trait studies. Our results provide little support for such arguments, and instead highlight the utility of LCLs as a reasonable model for the study of expression. And while LCLs are clearly not the ideal tissue for expression studies in many complex disorders, we note that we plan to serve results of eQTL studies in a variety of tissues in SCAN, and consider the studies summarized in this manuscript to be an initial effort that will be enriched by subsequent studies in additional tissues. It is possible that diseases without evidence for eQTL enrichment using data from LCLs will ultimately yield such evidence when data from more relevant tissues is used; alternatively, at least a subset of those disorders without evidence for enrichment for eQTLs may turn out to derive substantial
