Expression quantitative trait loci in the developing human brain and their enrichment in neuropsychiatric disorders.
- Authors
- O'Brien, Heath E; Hannon, Eilis; Hill, Matthew J; Toste, Carolina C; Robertson, Matthew J; Morgan, Joanne E; McLaughlin, Gemma; Lewis, Cathryn M; Schalkwyk, Leonard C; Hall, Lynsey S; PardiΓ±as, Antonio F; Owen, Michael J; O'Donovan, Michael C; Mill, Jonathan; Bray, Nicholas J
- Year
- 2018
- Journal
- Genome biology
- PMID
- 30419947
- DOI
- 10.1186/s13059-018-1567-1
- PMCID
- PMC6231252
BACKGROUND: Genetic influences on gene expression in the human fetal brain plausibly impact upon a variety of postnatal brain-related traits, including susceptibility to neuropsychiatric disorders. However, to date, there have been no studies that have mapped genome-wide expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) specifically in the human prenatal brain. RESULTS: We performed deep RNA sequencing and genome-wide genotyping on a unique collection of 120 human brains from the second trimester of gestation to provide the first eQTL dataset derived exclusively from the human fetal brain. We identify high confidence cis-acting eQTL at the individual transcript as well as whole gene level, including many mapping to a common inversion polymorphism on chromosome 17q21. Fetal brain eQTL are enriched among risk variants for postnatal conditions including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. We further identify changes in gene expression within the prenatal brain that potentially mediate risk for neuropsychiatric traits, including increased expression of C4A in association with genetic risk for schizophrenia, increased expression of LRRC57 in association with genetic risk for bipolar disorder, and altered expression of multiple genes within the chromosome 17q21 inversion in association with variants influencing the personality trait of neuroticism. CONCLUSIONS: We have mapped eQTL operating in the human fetal brain, providing evidence that these confer risk to certain neuropsychiatric disorders, and identifying gene expression changes that potentially mediate susceptibility to these conditions.
Genomic characterization of fetal brain cis-eQTL. a Plot of eQTL density (FDR < 0.05) versus distance from transcription start site for all eTranscripts. Expression QTLs mapping to a common 900-kb inversion on chromosome 17q21 were excluded from this analysis due to extensive linkage disequilibrium across the inversion. b Enrichment of eTranscript eQTL within genomic features identified by the ENCODE [8] and Roadmap Epigenomics Consortium [9] projects in six human cell lines. Enrichments are expressed as the natural log of odds ratios, with error bars representing 95% confidence intervals. GM12878 = lymphoblastoid cell line; H1HESC = embryonic stem cell line; HeLa-S3 = cervix adenocarcinoma cell line; HepG2 liver carcinoma cell line; HUVEC = umbilical vein endothelial cells; K562 = myeloid leukemia cell line. Fetal brain eQTL are significantly enriched in regions annotated as TSS, flanking promoter, enhancer, weak enhancer, and CTCF binding sites, but significantly depleted in repressed genomic regions
Heatmap of m values for fetal brain cis-eQTL (FDR < 0.05) for 974 eGenes across 48 adult tissues assayed by the GTEx Consortium [4]. m values are derived from a Meta-Tissue [68] analysis performed by the GTEx consortium (using v7 data), and estimate the posterior probability that an eQTL is shared between each tissue. GTEx m values are available for 974 gene fetal brain cis-eQTL that are predicted to be shared by at least two adult tissues (m values > 0.9); the five fetal brain cis-eQTL that are eQTL in only one adult tissue (FDR < 0.05) are not included. Greatest sharing of fetal brain eQTL is observed for adult brain regions, where, on average, 79% of the tested fetal brain eQTL are predicted to be shared
Enrichment of fetal brain transcript eQTL within variants associated with complex post-natal traits. Enrichments were tested at four GWAS P value thresholds (P < 5 Γ 10β 5, 5 Γ 10β 6, 5 Γ 10β 7, and 5 Γ 10β 8) for each trait. Top panel shows log10 P values at each threshold. The bottom panel shows the natural log of the odds ratio, with 95% confidence intervals, at each threshold. Only traits for which the significance of eQTL enrichment survives correction for multiple tests (P < 0.001; dotted line in upper panel) at one or more GWAS P value threshold are shown. There are no overlaps between fetal brain eQTL and risk variants for bipolar disorder at the P < 5 Γ 10β 8 threshold
Association between expression of the Complement C4A gene in fetal brain and genetic risk for schizophrenia. a Effect sizes of SNPs from schizophrenia GWAS [36] plotted against their effect sizes as fetal brain cis-eQTL for C4A. The triangular data point indicates the variant with the lowest P-SMR. Error bars are the standard errors of SNP effects. b Homozygotes for the schizophrenia-associated C-allele of rs9267544 exhibit increased expression of C4A in fetal brain compared with heterozygotes for this SNP. Error bars represent standard errors
| # | Section | Preview |
|---|---|---|
| 40 | Methods β eQTL enrichment analyses β Enrichment of fetal brain mQTLs in eQTL | To test for enrichment of genetic variants associated with DNA methylation in the developing brainβ¦ |
| 41 | Methods β eQTL enrichment analyses β Enrichment of variants associated with brain and non-brain complex traits in eQTLs | GWAS results for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder [31], anorexia nervosa [32], autismβ¦ |
| 42 | Methods β Testing for pleiotropic association with neuropsychiatric traits | We tested for joint associations between fetal brain eQTL and GWAS signals usingβ¦ |
| 43 | Methods β Testing for pleiotropic association with neuropsychiatric traits | We additionally investigated potential sharing of eQTLs identified by the CommonMind Consortium inβ¦ |
| 44 | Additional files | Additional file 1:Tables S1-S10. containing sample data, top eQTL for all significant eGenes and⦠|
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