On chromosome 4q, we found multiple GWS associations with SNPs in or near PDLIM5 (PDZ and LIM Domain 5), METAP1 (methionyl aminopeptidase 1), LOC100507053 (a lncRNA gene), ADH1B and ADH1C (Figures 1a and b). The most relevant segment of LOC100507053 maps between ADH1A and ADH1B. The support for PDLIM5, near ADH5, comes mostly from the SAGE sample, a unique occurrence. All of the ~50 GWS associations observed in the chromosome 4q region are population specific; in many cases, there are major population differences in allele frequencies. Nevertheless, there is strong evidence for association with LOC100507053 and ADH1B in both AAs and EAs, most notably ADH1B SNPs rs1229984 (Arg48His) in EAs (P = 1.85 × 10−23) and rs2066702 (Arg369Cys) in AAs (P = 6.33 × 10−17).
