Retinal transcriptome and eQTL analyses identify genes associated with age-related macular degeneration

Nat Genet. 2019 Apr;51(4):606-610. doi: 10.1038/s41588-019-0351-9. Epub 2019 Feb 11.

Abstract

Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified genetic variants at 34 loci contributing to age-related macular degeneration (AMD)1-3. We generated transcriptional profiles of postmortem retinas from 453 controls and cases at distinct stages of AMD and integrated retinal transcriptomes, covering 13,662 protein-coding and 1,462 noncoding genes, with genotypes at more than 9 million common SNPs for expression quantitative trait loci (eQTL) analysis of a tissue not included in Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) and other large datasets4,5. Cis-eQTL analysis identified 10,474 genes under genetic regulation, including 4,541 eQTLs detected only in the retina. Integrated analysis of AMD-GWAS with eQTLs ascertained likely target genes at six reported loci. Using transcriptome-wide association analysis (TWAS), we identified three additional genes, RLBP1, HIC1 and PARP12, after Bonferroni correction. Our studies expand the genetic landscape of AMD and establish the Eye Genotype Expression (EyeGEx) database as a resource for post-GWAS interpretation of multifactorial ocular traits.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Case-Control Studies
  • Gene Expression Profiling / methods
  • Gene Expression Regulation / genetics
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease / genetics*
  • Genome-Wide Association Study / methods
  • Genotype
  • Humans
  • Macular Degeneration / genetics*
  • Phenotype
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide / genetics
  • Quantitative Trait Loci / genetics*
  • Retina / physiopathology
  • Transcriptome / genetics*