A deep catalogue of protein-coding variation in 983,578 individuals.

Rare coding variants that significantly impact function provide insights into the biology of a gene1-3. However, ascertaining their frequency requires large sample sizes4-8. Here, we present a catalogue of human protein-coding variation, derived from exome sequencing of 983,578 individuals across diverse populations. 23% of the Regeneron Genetics Center Million Exome data (RGC-ME) comes from non-European individuals of African, East Asian, Indigenous American, Middle Eastern, and South Asian ancestry. This catalogue includes over 10.4 million missense and 1.1 million predicted loss-of-function (pLOF) variants. We identify individuals with rare biallelic pLOF variants in 4,848 genes, 1,751 of which have not been previously reported. From precise quantitative estimates of selection against heterozygous loss-of-function, we identify 3,988 loss-of-function intolerant genes, including 86 that were previously assessed as tolerant and 1,153 lacking established disease annotation. We also define regions of missense depletion at high resolution. Notably, 1,482 genes have regions depleted of missense variants despite being tolerant to pLOF variants. Finally, we estimate that 3% of individuals have a clinically actionable genetic variant, and that 11,773 variants reported in ClinVar with unknown significance are likely to be deleterious cryptic splice sites. To facilitate variant interpretation and genetics-informed precision medicine, we make this important resource of coding variation from the RGC-ME accessible via a public variant allele frequency browser.

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association study of cannabis use disorder yields insight into disease biology and public health implications.

As recreational use of cannabis is being decriminalized in many places and medical use widely sanctioned, there are growing concerns about increases in cannabis use disorder (CanUD), which is associated with numerous medical comorbidities. Here we performed a genome-wide association study of CanUD in the Million Veteran Program (MVP), followed by meta-analysis in 1,054,365 individuals (ncases = 64,314) from four broad ancestries designated by the reference panel used for assignment (European n = 886,025, African n = 123,208, admixed American n = 38,289 and East Asian n = 6,843). Population-specific methods were applied to calculate single nucleotide polymorphism-based heritability within each ancestry. Statistically significant single nucleotide polymorphism-based heritability for CanUD was observed in all but the smallest population (East Asian). We discovered genome-wide significant loci unique to each ancestry: 22 in European, 2 each in African and East Asian, and 1 in admixed American ancestries. A genetically informed causal relationship analysis indicated a possible effect of genetic liability for CanUD on lung cancer risk, suggesting potential unanticipated future medical and psychiatric public health consequences that require further study to disentangle from other known risk factors such as cigarette smoking.

Depression pathophysiology, risk prediction of recurrence and comorbid psychiatric disorders using genome-wide analyses.

Depression is a common psychiatric disorder and a leading cause of disability worldwide. Here we conducted a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of six datasets, including >1.3 million individuals (371,184 with depression) and identified 243 risk loci. Overall, 64 loci were new, including genes encoding glutamate and GABA receptors, which are targets for antidepressant drugs. Intersection with functional genomics data prioritized likely causal genes and revealed new enrichment of prenatal GABAergic neurons, astrocytes and oligodendrocyte lineages. We found depression to be highly polygenic, with ~11,700 variants explaining 90% of the single-nucleotide polymorphism heritability, estimating that >95% of risk variants for other psychiatric disorders (anxiety, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) were influencing depression risk when both concordant and discordant variants were considered, and nearly all depression risk variants influenced educational attainment. Additionally, depression genetic risk was associated with impaired complex cognition domains. We dissected the genetic and clinical heterogeneity, revealing distinct polygenic architectures across subgroups of depression and demonstrating significantly increased absolute risks for recurrence and psychiatric comorbidity among cases of depression with the highest polygenic burden, with considerable sex differences. The risks were up to 5- and 32-fold higher than cases with the lowest polygenic burden and the background population, respectively. These results deepen the understanding of the biology underlying depression, its disease progression and inform precision medicine approaches to treatment.

Rare coding variants in CHRNB2 reduce the likelihood of smoking.

Human genetic studies of smoking behavior have been thus far largely limited to common variants. Studying rare coding variants has the potential to identify drug targets. We performed an exome-wide association study of smoking phenotypes in up to 749,459 individuals and discovered a protective association in CHRNB2, encoding the ß2 subunit of the α4ß2 nicotine acetylcholine receptor. Rare predicted loss-of-function and likely deleterious missense variants in CHRNB2 in aggregate were associated with a 35% decreased odds for smoking heavily (odds ratio (OR) = 0.65, confidence interval (CI) = 0.56-0.76, P = 1.9 × 10-8). An independent common variant association in the protective direction ( rs2072659 ; OR = 0.96; CI = 0.94-0.98; P = 5.3 × 10-6) was also evident, suggesting an allelic series. Our findings in humans align with decades-old experimental observations in mice that ß2 loss abolishes nicotine-mediated neuronal responses and attenuates nicotine self-administration. Our genetic discovery will inspire future drug designs targeting CHRNB2 in the brain for the treatment of nicotine addiction.

Genome-wide association study of school grades identifies genetic overlap between language ability, psychopathology and creativity.

Cognitive functions of individuals with psychiatric disorders differ from that of the general population. Such cognitive differences often manifest early in life as differential school performance and have a strong genetic basis. Here we measured genetic predictors of school performance in 30,982 individuals in English, Danish and mathematics via a genome-wide association study (GWAS) and studied their relationship with risk for six major psychiatric disorders. When decomposing the school performance into math and language-specific performances, we observed phenotypically and genetically a strong negative correlation between math performance and risk for most psychiatric disorders. But language performance correlated positively with risk for certain disorders, especially schizophrenia, which we replicate in an independent sample (n = 4547). We also found that the genetic variants relating to increased risk for schizophrenia and better language performance are overrepresented in individuals involved in creative professions (n = 2953) compared to the general population (n = 164,622). The findings together suggest that language ability, creativity and psychopathology might stem from overlapping genetic roots.

Genome-wide analyses of ADHD identify 27 risk loci, refine the genetic architecture and implicate several cognitive domains.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder with a major genetic component. Here, we present a genome-wide association study meta-analysis of ADHD comprising 38,691 individuals with ADHD and 186,843 controls. We identified 27 genome-wide significant loci, highlighting 76 potential risk genes enriched among genes expressed particularly in early brain development. Overall, ADHD genetic risk was associated with several brain-specific neuronal subtypes and midbrain dopaminergic neurons. In exome-sequencing data from 17,896 individuals, we identified an increased load of rare protein-truncating variants in ADHD for a set of risk genes enriched with probable causal common variants, potentially implicating SORCS3 in ADHD by both common and rare variants. Bivariate Gaussian mixture modeling estimated that 84-98% of ADHD-influencing variants are shared with other psychiatric disorders. In addition, common-variant ADHD risk was associated with impaired complex cognition such as verbal reasoning and a range of executive functions, including attention.

Polygenic liability, stressful life events and risk for secondary-treated depression in early life: a nationwide register-based case-cohort study.

BACKGROUND: In this study, we examined the relationship between polygenic liability for depression and number of stressful life events (SLEs) as risk factors for early-onset depression treated in inpatient, outpatient or emergency room settings at psychiatric hospitals in Denmark. METHODS: Data were drawn from the iPSYCH2012 case-cohort sample, a population-based sample of individuals born in Denmark between 1981 and 2005. The sample included 18 532 individuals who were diagnosed with depression by a psychiatrist by age 31 years, and a comparison group of 20 184 individuals. Information on SLEs was obtained from nationwide registers and operationalized as a time-varying count variable. Hazard ratios and cumulative incidence rates were estimated using Cox regressions. RESULTS: Risk for depression increased by 35% with each standard deviation increase in polygenic liability (p < 0.0001), and 36% (p < 0.0001) with each additional SLE. There was a small interaction between polygenic liability and SLEs (ß = -0.04, p = 0.0009). The probability of being diagnosed with depression in a hospital-based setting between ages 15 and 31 years ranged from 1.5% among males in the lowest quartile of polygenic liability with 0 events by age 15, to 18.8% among females in the highest quartile of polygenic liability with 4+ events by age 15. CONCLUSIONS: These findings suggest that although there is minimal interaction between polygenic liability and SLEs as risk factors for hospital-treated depression, combining information on these two important risk factors could potentially be useful for identifying high-risk individuals.

Common and rare variant associations with clonal haematopoiesis phenotypes.

Clonal haematopoiesis involves the expansion of certain blood cell lineages and has been associated with ageing and adverse health outcomes1-5. Here we use exome sequence data on 628,388 individuals to identify 40,208 carriers of clonal haematopoiesis of indeterminate potential (CHIP). Using genome-wide and exome-wide association analyses, we identify 24 loci (21 of which are novel) where germline genetic variation influences predisposition to CHIP, including missense variants in the lymphocytic antigen coding gene LY75, which are associated with reduced incidence of CHIP. We also identify novel rare variant associations with clonal haematopoiesis and telomere length. Analysis of 5,041 health traits from the UK Biobank (UKB) found relationships between CHIP and severe COVID-19 outcomes, cardiovascular disease, haematologic traits, malignancy, smoking, obesity, infection and all-cause mortality. Longitudinal and Mendelian randomization analyses revealed that CHIP is associated with solid cancers, including non-melanoma skin cancer and lung cancer, and that CHIP linked to DNMT3A is associated with the subsequent development of myeloid but not lymphoid leukaemias. Additionally, contrary to previous findings from the initial 50,000 UKB exomes6, our results in the full sample do not support a role for IL-6 inhibition in reducing the risk of cardiovascular disease among CHIP carriers. Our findings demonstrate that CHIP represents a complex set of heterogeneous phenotypes with shared and unique germline genetic causes and varied clinical implications.

Genome-wide by Environment Interaction Study of Stressful Life Events and Hospital-Treated Depression in the iPSYCH2012 Sample.

Background: Researchers have long investigated a hypothesized interaction between genetic risk and stressful life events in the etiology of depression, but studies on the topic have yielded inconsistent results. Methods: We conducted a genome-wide by environment interaction study (GWEIS) in 18,532 patients with depression from hospital-based settings and 20,184 population controls. All individuals were drawn from the iPSYCH2012 case-cohort study, a nationally representative sample identified from Danish national registers. Information on stressful life events including family disruption, serious medical illness, death of a first-degree relative, parental disability, and child maltreatment was identified from the registers and operationalized as a time-varying count variable. Hazard ratios for main and interaction effects were estimated using Cox regressions weighted to accommodate the case-cohort design. Our replication sample included 22,880 depression cases and 50,378 controls from the UK Biobank. Results: The GWEIS in the iPSYCH2012 sample yielded three novel, genome-wide-significant (p < 5 × 10-8) loci located in the ABCC1 gene (rs56076205, p = 3.7 × 10-10), the AKAP6 gene (rs3784187, p = 1.2 × 10-8), and near the MFSD1 gene (rs340315, p = 4.5 × 10-8). No hits replicated in the UK Biobank (rs56076205: p = .87; rs3784187: p = .93; rs340315: p = .71). Conclusions: In this large, population-based GWEIS, we did not find any replicable hits for interaction. Future gene-by-stress research in depression should focus on establishing even larger collaborative GWEISs to attain sufficient power.

Differences in the genetic architecture of common and rare variants in childhood, persistent and late-diagnosed attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder with onset in childhood (childhood ADHD); two-thirds of affected individuals continue to have ADHD in adulthood (persistent ADHD), and sometimes ADHD is diagnosed in adulthood (late-diagnosed ADHD). We evaluated genetic differences among childhood (n = 14,878), persistent (n = 1,473) and late-diagnosed (n = 6,961) ADHD cases alongside 38,303 controls, and rare variant differences in 7,650 ADHD cases and 8,649 controls. We identified four genome-wide significant loci for childhood ADHD and one for late-diagnosed ADHD. We found increased polygenic scores for ADHD in persistent ADHD compared with the other two groups. Childhood ADHD had higher genetic overlap with hyperactivity and autism compared with late-diagnosed ADHD and the highest burden of rare protein-truncating variants in evolutionarily constrained genes. Late-diagnosed ADHD had a larger genetic overlap with depression than childhood ADHD and no increased burden in rare protein-truncating variants. Overall, these results suggest a genetic influence on age at first ADHD diagnosis, persistence of ADHD and the different comorbidity patterns among the groups.

Genome-wide association study in individuals of European and African ancestry and multi-trait analysis of opioid use disorder identifies 19 independent genome-wide significant risk loci.

Despite the large toll of opioid use disorder (OUD), genome-wide association studies (GWAS) of OUD to date have yielded few susceptibility loci. We performed a large-scale GWAS of OUD in individuals of European (EUR) and African (AFR) ancestry, optimizing genetic informativeness by performing MTAG (Multi-trait analysis of GWAS) with genetically correlated substance use disorders (SUDs). Meta-analysis included seven cohorts: the Million Veteran Program, Psychiatric Genomics Consortium, iPSYCH, FinnGen, Partners Biobank, BioVU, and Yale-Penn 3, resulting in a total N = 639,063 (Ncases = 20,686;Neffective = 77,026) across ancestries. OUD cases were defined as having a lifetime OUD diagnosis, and controls as anyone not known to meet OUD criteria. We estimated SNP-heritability (h2SNP) and genetic correlations (rg). Based on genetic correlation, we performed MTAG on OUD, alcohol use disorder (AUD), and cannabis use disorder (CanUD). A leave-one-out polygenic risk score (PRS) analysis was performed to compare OUD and OUD-MTAG PRS as predictors of OUD case status in Yale-Penn 3. The EUR meta-analysis identified three genome-wide significant (GWS; p ≤ 5 × 10-8) lead SNPs-one at FURIN (rs11372849; p = 9.54 × 10-10) and two OPRM1 variants (rs1799971, p = 4.92 × 10-09; rs79704991, p = 1.11 × 10-08; r2 = 0.02). Rs1799971 (p = 4.91 × 10-08) and another OPRM1 variant (rs9478500; p = 1.95 × 10-08; r2 = 0.03) were identified in the cross-ancestry meta-analysis. Estimated h2SNP was 12.75%, with strong rg with CanUD (rg = 0.82; p = 1.14 × 10-47) and AUD (rg = 0.77; p = 6.36 × 10-78). The OUD-MTAG resulted in a GWAS Nequivalent = 128,748 and 18 independent GWS loci, some mapping to genes or gene regions that have previously been associated with psychiatric or addiction phenotypes. The OUD-MTAG PRS accounted for 3.81% of OUD variance (beta = 0.61;s.e. = 0.066; p = 2.00 × 10-16) compared to 2.41% (beta = 0.45; s.e. = 0.058; p = 2.90 × 10-13) explained by the OUD PRS. The current study identified OUD variant associations at OPRM1, single variant associations with FURIN, and 18 GWS associations in the OUD-MTAG. The genetic architecture of OUD is likely influenced by both OUD-specific loci and loci shared across SUDs.

Genetic analyses identify widespread sex-differential participation bias.

Genetic association results are often interpreted with the assumption that study participation does not affect downstream analyses. Understanding the genetic basis of participation bias is challenging since it requires the genotypes of unseen individuals. Here we demonstrate that it is possible to estimate comparative biases by performing a genome-wide association study contrasting one subgroup versus another. For example, we showed that sex exhibits artifactual autosomal heritability in the presence of sex-differential participation bias. By performing a genome-wide association study of sex in approximately 3.3 million males and females, we identified over 158 autosomal loci spuriously associated with sex and highlighted complex traits underpinning differences in study participation between the sexes. For example, the body mass index-increasing allele at FTO was observed at higher frequency in males compared to females (odds ratio = 1.02, P = 4.4 × 10-36). Finally, we demonstrated how these biases can potentially lead to incorrect inferences in downstream analyses and propose a conceptual framework for addressing such biases. Our findings highlight a new challenge that genetic studies may face as sample sizes continue to grow.

Risk variants and polygenic architecture of disruptive behavior disorders in the context of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a childhood psychiatric disorder often comorbid with disruptive behavior disorders (DBDs). Here, we report a GWAS meta-analysis of ADHD comorbid with DBDs (ADHD + DBDs) including 3802 cases and 31,305 controls. We identify three genome-wide significant loci on chromosomes 1, 7, and 11. A meta-analysis including a Chinese cohort supports that the locus on chromosome 11 is a strong risk locus for ADHD + DBDs across European and Chinese ancestries (rs7118422, P = 3.15×10-10, OR = 1.17). We find a higher SNP heritability for ADHD + DBDs (h2SNP = 0.34) when compared to ADHD without DBDs (h2SNP = 0.20), high genetic correlations between ADHD + DBDs and aggressive (rg = 0.81) and anti-social behaviors (rg = 0.82), and an increased burden (polygenic score) of variants associated with ADHD and aggression in ADHD + DBDs compared to ADHD without DBDs. Our results suggest an increased load of common risk variants in ADHD + DBDs compared to ADHD without DBDs, which in part can be explained by variants associated with aggressive behavior.

Identification of genetic loci associated with nocturnal enuresis: a genome-wide association study.

BACKGROUND: Nocturnal enuresis (bedwetting) is a common disorder affecting 10-16% of 7-year-old children globally. Nocturnal enuresis is highly heritable, but its genetic determinants remain unknown. We aimed to identify genetic variants associated with nocturnal enuresis and explore its genetic architecture and underlying biology. METHODS: We did a genome-wide association study (GWAS) of nocturnal enuresis. Nocturnal enuresis cases were identified in iPSYCH2012, a large Danish population-based case cohort established to investigate mental disorders, on the basis of 10th revision of the International Statistical Classification of Diseases (ICD-10) diagnoses and redeemed desmopressin prescriptions in Danish registers. The GWAS was done in a genetically homogeneous sample of unrelated individuals using logistic regression with relevant covariates. All genome-wide significant variants were analysed for their association with nocturnal enuresis in an independent Icelandic sample from deCODE genetics. Standardised polygenic risk scores for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder were constructed from summary statistics of large GWASs and analysed for association with nocturnal enuresis. FINDINGS: The GWAS included 3882 nocturnal enuresis cases and 31 073 controls. We found two loci at chromosome 6 and chromosome 13 significantly associated with nocturnal enuresis. Six genetic variants at the two loci (five variants at chromosome 6q16.2 and one variant at chromosome 13q22.3) surpassed the threshold for genome-wide significance (p<5 × 10-8). There were two lead variants: rs9376454 (chromosome 6q16.2), with an odds ratio (OR) of 1·199 (95% CI 1·135-1·267; p=9·91 × 10-11), and rs60721117 (chromosome 13q22.3), with an OR of 1·149 (1·095-1·205; p=1·21 × 10-8). All associated variants in the chromosome 6 locus were replicated (p<8 × 10-3) in the independent Icelandic cohort of 5475 nocturnal enuresis cases and 303 996 controls, whereas the associated variant in the chromosome 13 locus showed nominal significant association (p=0·031). The percentage of nocturnal enuresis phenotypic variance explained by the common genetic variants was 23·9-30·4%. Polygenic risk for ADHD was associated with nocturnal enuresis (OR 1·06, 95% CI, 1·01-1·10; p=0·011). Among the potential nocturnal enuresis risk genes mapped, PRDM13 and EDNRB have biological functions associated with known pathophysiological mechanisms in nocturnal enuresis, and SIM1 regulates the formation of the hypothalamic neuroendocrine lineage that produces arginine vasopressin, a well known nocturnal enuresis drug target. INTERPRETATION: This study shows that common genetic variants contribute considerably to nocturnal enuresis, and it identifies potential nocturnal enuresis risk genes with roles in sleep, urine production, and bladder function. Given that available treatments target these mechanisms, any of the identified genes and their functional gene networks are potential drug targets. FUNDING: The Lundbeck Foundation Initiative for Integrative Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), Stanley Foundation.

Exploring genetic variation that influences brain methylation in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder caused by an interplay of genetic and environmental factors. Epigenetics is crucial to lasting changes in gene expression in the brain. Recent studies suggest a role for DNA methylation in ADHD. We explored the contribution to ADHD of allele-specific methylation (ASM), an epigenetic mechanism that involves SNPs correlating with differential levels of DNA methylation at CpG sites. We selected 3896 tagSNPs reported to influence methylation in human brain regions and performed a case-control association study using the summary statistics from the largest GWAS meta-analysis of ADHD, comprising 20,183 cases and 35,191 controls. We observed that genetic risk variants for ADHD are enriched in ASM SNPs and identified associations with eight tagSNPs that were significant at a 5% false discovery rate (FDR). These SNPs correlated with methylation of CpG sites lying in the promoter regions of six genes. Since methylation may affect gene expression, we inspected these ASM SNPs together with 52 ASM SNPs in high LD with them for eQTLs in brain tissues and observed that the expression of three of those genes was affected by them. ADHD risk alleles correlated with increased expression (and decreased methylation) of ARTN and PIDD1 and with a decreased expression (and increased methylation) of C2orf82. Furthermore, these three genes were predicted to have altered expression in ADHD, and genetic variants in C2orf82 correlated with brain volumes. In summary, we followed a systematic approach to identify risk variants for ADHD that correlated with differential cis-methylation, identifying three novel genes contributing to the disorder.

Integrative transcriptome imputation reveals tissue-specific and shared biological mechanisms mediating susceptibility to complex traits.

Transcriptome-wide association studies integrate gene expression data with common risk variation to identify gene-trait associations. By incorporating epigenome data to estimate the functional importance of genetic variation on gene expression, we generate a small but significant improvement in the accuracy of transcriptome prediction and increase the power to detect significant expression-trait associations. Joint analysis of 14 large-scale transcriptome datasets and 58 traits identify 13,724 significant expression-trait associations that converge on biological processes and relevant phenotypes in human and mouse phenotype databases. We perform drug repurposing analysis and identify compounds that mimic, or reverse, trait-specific changes. We identify genes that exhibit agonistic pleiotropy for genetically correlated traits that converge on shared biological pathways and elucidate distinct processes in disease etiopathogenesis. Overall, this comprehensive analysis provides insight into the specificity and convergence of gene expression on susceptibility to complex traits.

Publisher Correction: Gene expression imputation across multiple brain regions provides insights into schizophrenia risk.

In the HTML version of the article originally published, the author group 'The Schizophrenia Working Group of the Psychiatric Genomics Consortium' was displayed incorrectly. The error has been corrected in the HTML version of the article.