We also identified two new genome-wide significant loci in the analysis of severe COPD versus controls. The first was at 11q22; the top-ranked SNP was rs626750 (nearest genes, MMP3 and MMP12). We found supportive evidence for association with severe COPD in ICGN (P = 0•06) and a genome-wide significant result in the joint meta-analysis (P = 2•6×10−9). This locus was previously reported in an analysis including subjects from NAS and NETT46. After excluding NETT/NAS subjects, the joint meta-analysis P-value remained significant (P = 7•0×10−9). The second locus was at 1q41, where the top-ranked SNP was rs4846480 (nearest gene, TGFB2). This locus was just below-genome wide significance in the genome-wide cohorts (1•3×10−). Including the results from ICGN (P = 0•007), brought the joint meta-analysis results to P = 8•3×10−9.
