Identification of common genetic variants controlling transcript isoform variation in human whole blood

Nat Genet. 2015 Apr;47(4):345-52. doi: 10.1038/ng.3220. Epub 2015 Feb 16.

Abstract

An understanding of the genetic variation underlying transcript splicing is essential to dissect the molecular mechanisms of common disease. The available evidence from splicing quantitative trait locus (sQTL) studies has been limited to small samples. We performed genome-wide screening to identify SNPs that might control mRNA splicing in whole blood collected from 5,257 Framingham Heart Study participants. We identified 572,333 cis sQTLs involving 2,650 unique genes. Many sQTL-associated genes (40%) undergo alternative splicing. Using the National Human Genome Research Institute (NHGRI) genome-wide association study (GWAS) catalog, we determined that 528 unique sQTLs were significantly enriched for 8,845 SNPs associated with traits in previous GWAS. In particular, we found 395 (4.5%) GWAS SNPs with evidence of cis sQTLs but not gene-level cis expression quantitative trait loci (eQTLs), suggesting that sQTL analysis could provide additional insights into the functional mechanism underlying GWAS results. Our findings provide an informative sQTL resource for further characterizing the potential functional roles of SNPs that control transcript isoforms relevant to common diseases.

Publication types

  • Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
  • Research Support, N.I.H., Intramural

MeSH terms

  • Alternative Splicing / genetics*
  • Base Sequence
  • Blood Cells / metabolism*
  • DNA Mutational Analysis
  • Disease / genetics
  • Gene Expression Profiling
  • Genetic Predisposition to Disease
  • Genome-Wide Association Study
  • Humans
  • Polymorphism, Single Nucleotide*
  • Protein Isoforms / genetics*
  • Quantitative Trait Loci / genetics*
  • RNA Splice Sites / genetics
  • Transcriptome

Substances

  • Protein Isoforms
  • RNA Splice Sites

Associated data

  • dbGaP/PHE000002.V2
  • dbGaP/PHS000363.V10.P8