Genome Analyses of >200,000 Individuals Identify 58 Loci for Chronic Inflammation and Highlight Pathways that Link Inflammation and Complex Disorders.
Ligthart S., Vaez A., Võsa U., Stathopoulou MG., de Vries PS., Prins BP., Van der Most PJ., Tanaka T., Naderi E., Rose LM., Wu Y., Karlsson R., Barbalic M., Lin H., Pool R., Zhu G., Macé A., Sidore C., Trompet S., Mangino M., Sabater-Lleal M., Kemp JP., Abbasi A., Kacprowski T., Verweij N., Smith AV., Huang T., Marzi C., Feitosa MF., Lohman KK., Kleber ME., Milaneschi Y., Mueller C., Huq M., Vlachopoulou E., Lyytikäinen L-P., Oldmeadow C., Deelen J., Perola M., Zhao JH., Feenstra B., LifeLines Cohort Study None., Amini M., CHARGE Inflammation Working Group None., Lahti J., Schraut KE., Fornage M., Suktitipat B., Chen W-M., Li X., Nutile T., Malerba G., Luan J., Bak T., Schork N., Del Greco M F., Thiering E., Mahajan A., Marioni RE., Mihailov E., Eriksson J., Ozel AB., Zhang W., Nethander M., Cheng Y-C., Aslibekyan S., Ang W., Gandin I., Yengo L., Portas L., Kooperberg C., Hofer E., Rajan KB., Schurmann C., den Hollander W., Ahluwalia TS., Zhao J., Draisma HHM., Ford I., Timpson N., Teumer A., Huang H., Wahl S., Liu Y., Huang J., Uh H-W., Geller F., Joshi PK., Yanek LR., Trabetti E., Lehne B., Vozzi D., Verbanck M., Biino G., Saba Y., Meulenbelt I., O'Connell JR., Laakso M., Giulianini F., Magnusson PKE., Ballantyne CM., Hottenga JJ., Montgomery GW., Rivadineira F., Rueedi R., Steri M., Herzig K-H., Stott DJ., Menni C., Frånberg M., St Pourcain B., Felix SB., Pers TH., Bakker SJL., Kraft P., Peters A., Vaidya D., Delgado G., Smit JH., Großmann V., Sinisalo J., Seppälä I., Williams SR., Holliday EG., Moed M., Langenberg C., Räikkönen K., Ding J., Campbell H., Sale MM., Chen Y-DI., James AL., Ruggiero D., Soranzo N., Hartman CA., Smith EN., Berenson GS., Fuchsberger C., Hernandez D., Tiesler CMT., Giedraitis V., Liewald D., Fischer K., Mellström D., Larsson A., Wang Y., Scott WR., Lorentzon M., Beilby J., Ryan KA., Pennell CE., Vuckovic D., Balkau B., Concas MP., Schmidt R., Mendes de Leon CF., Bottinger EP., Kloppenburg M., Paternoster L., Boehnke M., Musk AW., Willemsen G., Evans DM., Madden PAF., Kähönen M., Kutalik Z., Zoledziewska M., Karhunen V., Kritchevsky SB., Sattar N., Lachance G., Clarke R., Harris TB., Raitakari OT., Attia JR., van Heemst D., Kajantie E., Sorice R., Gambaro G., Scott RA., Hicks AA., Ferrucci L., Standl M., Lindgren CM., Starr JM., Karlsson M., Lind L., Li JZ., Chambers JC., Mori TA., de Geus EJCN., Heath AC., Martin NG., Auvinen J., Buckley BM., de Craen AJM., Waldenberger M., Strauch K., Meitinger T., Scott RJ., McEvoy M., Beekman M., Bombieri C., Ridker PM., Mohlke KL., Pedersen NL., Morrison AC., Boomsma DI., Whitfield JB., Strachan DP., Hofman A., Vollenweider P., Cucca F., Jarvelin M-R., Jukema JW., Spector TD., Hamsten A., Zeller T., Uitterlinden AG., Nauck M., Gudnason V., Qi L., Grallert H., Borecki IB., Rotter JI., März W., Wild PS., Lokki M-L., Boyle M., Salomaa V., Melbye M., Eriksson JG., Wilson JF., Penninx BWJH., Becker DM., Worrall BB., Gibson G., Krauss RM., Ciullo M., Zaza G., Wareham NJ., Oldehinkel AJ., Palmer LJ., Murray SS., Pramstaller PP., Bandinelli S., Heinrich J., Ingelsson E., Deary IJ., Mägi R., Vandenput L., van der Harst P., Desch KC., Kooner JS., Ohlsson C., Hayward C., Lehtimäki T., Shuldiner AR., Arnett DK., Beilin LJ., Robino A., Froguel P., Pirastu M., Jess T., Koenig W., Loos RJF., Evans DA., Schmidt H., Smith GD., Slagboom PE., Eiriksdottir G., Morris AP., Psaty BM., Tracy RP., Nolte IM., Boerwinkle E., Visvikis-Siest S., Reiner AP., Gross M., Bis JC., Franke L., Franco OH., Benjamin EJ., Chasman DI., Dupuis J., Snieder H., Dehghan A., Alizadeh BZ.
C-reactive protein (CRP) is a sensitive biomarker of chronic low-grade inflammation and is associated with multiple complex diseases. The genetic determinants of chronic inflammation remain largely unknown, and the causal role of CRP in several clinical outcomes is debated. We performed two genome-wide association studies (GWASs), on HapMap and 1000 Genomes imputed data, of circulating amounts of CRP by using data from 88 studies comprising 204,402 European individuals. Additionally, we performed in silico functional analyses and Mendelian randomization analyses with several clinical outcomes. The GWAS meta-analyses of CRP revealed 58 distinct genetic loci (p < 5 × 10-8). After adjustment for body mass index in the regression analysis, the associations at all except three loci remained. The lead variants at the distinct loci explained up to 7.0% of the variance in circulating amounts of CRP. We identified 66 gene sets that were organized in two substantially correlated clusters, one mainly composed of immune pathways and the other characterized by metabolic pathways in the liver. Mendelian randomization analyses revealed a causal protective effect of CRP on schizophrenia and a risk-increasing effect on bipolar disorder. Our findings provide further insights into the biology of inflammation and could lead to interventions for treating inflammation and its clinical consequences.