Atrial myxoma presenting with orthostatic hypotension in an 84-year-old Hispanic man: a case report

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Defining the genetic control of human blood plasma N-glycome using genome-wide association study

Glycosylation is a common post-translational modification of proteins. Glycosylation is associated with a number of human diseases. Defining genetic factors altering glycosylation may provide a basis for novel approaches to diagnostic and pharmaceutical applications. Here we report a genome-wide association study of the human blood plasma N-glycome composition in up to 3811 people measured by Ultra Performance Liquid Chromatography (UPLC) technology. Starting with the 36 original traits measured by UPLC, we computed an additional 77 derived traits leading to a total of 113 glycan traits. We studied associations between these traits and genetic polymorphisms located on human autosomes. We discovered and replicated 12 loci. This allowed us to demonstrate an overlap in genetic control between total plasma protein and IgG glycosylation. The majority of revealed loci contained genes that encode enzymes directly involved in glycosylation (FUT3/FUT6, FUT8, B3GAT1, ST6GAL1, B4GALT1, ST3GAL4, MGAT3 and MGAT5) and a known regulator of plasma protein fucosylation (HNF1A). However, we also found loci that could possibly reflect other more complex aspects of glycosylation process. Functional genomic annotation suggested the role of several genes including DERL3, CHCHD10, TMEM121, IGH and IKZF1. The hypotheses we generated may serve as a starting point for further functional studies in this research area

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association analyses improve resolution of genes and pathways influencing lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk.

Lung-function impairment underlies chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and predicts mortality. In the largest multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of lung function to date, comprising 580,869 participants, we identified 1,020 independent association signals implicating 559 genes supported by ≥2 criteria from a systematic variant-to-gene mapping framework. These genes were enriched in 29 pathways. Individual variants showed heterogeneity across ancestries, age and smoking groups, and collectively as a genetic risk score showed strong association with COPD across ancestry groups. We undertook phenome-wide association studies for selected associated variants as well as trait and pathway-specific genetic risk scores to infer possible consequences of intervening in pathways underlying lung function. We highlight new putative causal variants, genes, proteins and pathways, including those targeted by existing drugs. These findings bring us closer to understanding the mechanisms underlying lung function and COPD, and should inform functional genomics experiments and potentially future COPD therapies

Multi-ancestry genome-wide association analyses improve resolution of genes and pathways influencing lung function and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease risk

Lung-function impairment underlies chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and predicts mortality. In the largest multi-ancestry genome-wide association meta-analysis of lung function to date, comprising 580,869 participants, we identified 1,020 independent association signals implicating 559 genes supported by ≥2 criteria from a systematic variant-to-gene mapping framework. These genes were enriched in 29 pathways. Individual variants showed heterogeneity across ancestries, age and smoking groups, and collectively as a genetic risk score showed strong association with COPD across ancestry groups. We undertook phenome-wide association studies for selected associated variants as well as trait and pathway-specific genetic risk scores to infer possible consequences of intervening in pathways underlying lung function. We highlight new putative causal variants, genes, proteins and pathways, including those targeted by existing drugs. These findings bring us closer to understanding the mechanisms underlying lung function and COPD, and should inform functional genomics experiments and potentially future COPD therapies