Genome-wide association study of placental weight identifies distinct and shared genetic influences between placental and fetal growth

This is the final version. Available on open access from Nature Research via the DOI in this record. Data availability: Individual cohorts contributing to the meta-analysis should be contacted directly as each cohort has different data access policies. GWAS summary statistics from this study are available via the EGG website (https://egg-consortium.org/placental-weight-2023.html, https://www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/), as well as the GWAS catalog (https://www.ebi.ac.uk/gwas/, accession numbers GCST90275189, GCST90275190, GCST90275191, GCST90275192, GCST90275193, GCST90275194, GCST90275195, GCST90275196, GCST90275197, GCST90275198, GCST90275199). Access to personal-level information from Gen3G (including methylation array data) is subject to controlled access according to participants’ consent concerning sharing of personal data. Request for conditions of access and for data access should be addressed to Center Hospitalier Universitaire de Sherbrooke institutional ethics committee: [email protected] availability: Analysis code is available from https://github.com/EarlyGrowthGenetics/placental_weight_codeA well-functioning placenta is essential for fetal and maternal health throughout pregnancy. Using placental weight as a proxy for placental growth, we report genome-wide association analyses in the fetal (n = 65,405), maternal (n = 61,228) and paternal (n = 52,392) genomes, yielding 40 independent association signals. Twenty-six signals are classified as fetal, four maternal and three fetal and maternal. A maternal parent-of-origin effect is seen near KCNQ1. Genetic correlation and colocalization analyses reveal overlap with birth weight genetics, but 12 loci are classified as predominantly or only affecting placental weight, with connections to placental development and morphology, and transport of antibodies and amino acids. Mendelian randomization analyses indicate that fetal genetically mediated higher placental weight is causally associated with preeclampsia risk and shorter gestational duration. Moreover, these analyses support the role of fetal insulin in regulating placental weight, providing a key link between fetal and placental growth.Wellcome Trus

Rare SLC13A1 variants associate with intervertebral disc disorder highlighting role of sulfate in disc pathology

Back pain is a common and debilitating disorder with largely unknown underlying biology. Here we report a genome-wide association study of back pain using diagnoses assigned in clinical practice; dorsalgia (119,100 cases, 909,847 controls) and intervertebral disc disorder (IDD) (58,854 cases, 922,958 controls). We identify 41 variants at 33 loci. The most significant association (ORIDD = 0.92, P = 1.6 × 10−39; ORdorsalgia = 0.92, P = 7.2 × 10−15) is with a 3’UTR variant (rs1871452-T) in CHST3, encoding a sulfotransferase enzyme expressed in intervertebral discs. The largest effects on IDD are conferred by rare (MAF = 0.07 − 0.32%) loss-of-function (LoF) variants in SLC13A1, encoding a sodium-sulfate co-transporter (LoF burden OR = 1.44, P = 3.1 × 10−11); variants that also associate with reduced serum sulfate. Genes implicated by this study are involved in cartilage and bone biology, as well as neurological and inflammatory processes