Uncovering genetic mechanisms of hypertension through multi-omic analysis of the kidney
- Authors: Eales, James , Jiang, Xiao , Xu, Xiaoguang , Prestes, Priscilla , Charchar, Fadi
- Date: 2021
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Nature Genetics Vol. 53, no. 5 (2021), p. 630-637
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: The kidney is an organ of key relevance to blood pressure (BP) regulation, hypertension and antihypertensive treatment. However, genetically mediated renal mechanisms underlying susceptibility to hypertension remain poorly understood. We integrated genotype, gene expression, alternative splicing and DNA methylation profiles of up to 430 human kidneys to characterize the effects of BP index variants from genome-wide association studies (GWASs) on renal transcriptome and epigenome. We uncovered kidney targets for 479 (58.3%) BP-GWAS variants and paired 49 BP-GWAS kidney genes with 210 licensed drugs. Our colocalization and Mendelian randomization analyses identified 179 unique kidney genes with evidence of putatively causal effects on BP. Through Mendelian randomization, we also uncovered effects of BP on renal outcomes commonly affecting patients with hypertension. Collectively, our studies identified genetic variants, kidney genes, molecular mechanisms and biological pathways of key relevance to the genetic regulation of BP and inherited susceptibility to hypertension. © 2021, Crown.
Changes in the leukocyte methylome and its effect on cardiovascular-related genes after exercise
- Authors: Denham, Joshua , O'Brien, Brendan , Marques, Francine , Charchar, Fadi
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Journal of Applied Physiology Vol. 118, no. 4 (2015), p. 475-488
- Relation: http://purl.org/au-research/grants/nhmrc/1009490
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Physical exercise has proven cardiovascular benefits, yet there is no clear understanding of the related molecular mechanisms leading to this. Here we determined the beneficial epigenetic effects of exercise after sprint interval training, a form of exercise known to improve cardiometabolic health. We quantified genome-wide leukocyte DNA methylation of 12 healthy young (18-24 yr) men before and after 4 wk (thrice weekly) of sprint interval training using the 450K BeadChip (Illumina) and validated gene expression changes in an extra seven subjects. Exercise increased subjects' cardiorespiratory fitness and maximal running performance, and decreased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration in conjunction with genome-wide DNA methylation changes. Notably, many CpG island and gene promoter regions were demethylated after exercise, indicating increased genome-wide transcriptional changes. Among genes with DNA methylation changes, epidermal growth factor (EGF), a ligand of the epidermal growth factor receptor known to be involved in cardiovascular disease, was demethylated and showed decreased mRNA expression. Additionally, we found that in microRNAs miR-21 and miR-210, gene DNA methylation was altered by exercise causing a cascade effect on the expression of the mature microRNA involved in cardiovascular function. Our findings demonstrate that exercise alters DNA methylation in circulating blood cells in microRNA and protein-coding genes associated with cardiovascular physiology. Copyright © 2015 the American Physiological Society
Runs of Homozygosity : Association with Coronary Artery Disease and Gene Expression in Monocytes and Macrophages
- Authors: Christofidou, Paraskevi , Nelson, Christopher , Nikpay, Majid , Qu, Liming , Li, Mingyao , Loley, Christina , Debiec, Radoslaw , Braund, Peter , Denniff, Matthew , Charchar, Fadi , Arjo, Ares Rocanin , Trégouët, David-Alexandre , Goodall, Alison , Cambien, Francois , Ouwehand, Willem , Roberts, Robert , Schunkert, Heribert , Hengstenberg, Christian , Reilly, Muredach , Erdmann, Jeanette , McPherson, Ruth , König, Inke , Thompson, John , Samani, Nilesh , Tomaszewski, Maciej
- Date: 2015
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: American Journal of Human Genetics Vol. 97, no. 2 (2015), p. 228-237
- Full Text: false
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- Description: Runs of homozygosity (ROHs) are recognized signature of recessive inheritance. Contributions of ROHs to the genetic architecture of coronary artery disease and regulation of gene expression in cells relevant to atherosclerosis are not known. Our combined analysis of 24,320 individuals from 11 populations of white European ethnicity showed an association between coronary artery disease and both the count and the size of ROHs. Individuals with coronary artery disease had approximately 0.63 (95% CI: 0.4-0.8) excess of ROHs when compared to coronary-artery-disease-free control subjects (p = 1.49 x 10
Genome-wide association study identifies loci influencing concentrations of liver enzymes in plasma
- Authors: Chambers, John , Zhang, Weihua , Sehmi, Joban , Li, Xinzhong , Wass, Mark N , van der Harst, Pim , Holm, Hilma , Sanna, Serena , Kavousi, Maryam , Charchar, Fadi
- Date: 2011
- Type: Text , Journal article
- Relation: Nature genetics Vol. 43, no. 11 (2011), p. 1131-1138
- Full Text: false
- Reviewed:
- Description: Concentrations of liver enzymes in plasma are widely used as indicators of liver disease. We carried out a genome-wide association study in 61,089 individuals, identifying 42 loci associated with concentrations of liver enzymes in plasma, of which 32 are new associations (P = 10−8 to P = 10−190). We used functional genomic approaches including metabonomic profiling and gene expression analyses to identify probable candidate genes at these regions. We identified 69 candidate genes, including genes involved in biliary transport (ATP8B1 and ABCB11), glucose, carbohydrate and lipid metabolism (FADS1, FADS2, GCKR, JMJD1C, HNF1A, MLXIPL, PNPLA3, PPP1R3B, SLC2A2 and TRIB1), glycoprotein biosynthesis and cell surface glycobiology (ABO, ASGR1, FUT2, GPLD1 and ST3GAL4), inflammation and immunity (CD276, CDH6, GCKR, HNF1A, HPR, ITGA1, RORA and STAT4) and glutathione metabolism (GSTT1, GSTT2 and GGT), as well as several genes of uncertain or unknown function (including ABHD12, EFHD1, EFNA1, EPHA2, MICAL3 and ZNF827). Our results provide new insight into genetic mechanisms and pathways influencing markers of liver function. 137 authors