1. Pairwise genetic interactions modulate lipid plasma levels and cellular uptake
- Author
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Christopher D. Whelan, Jimmy Z. Liu, Magdalena Zimon, Yunfeng Huang, Bernd Klaus, Peter Blattmann, Ellen A. Tsai, Wolfgang Huber, Anthi Trasta, David Sexton, Aliaksandr Halavatyi, Heiko Runz, Chia-Yen Chen, Rainer Pepperkok, and Sally John
- Subjects
Locus (genetics) ,Genome-wide association study ,Computational biology ,Biology ,Gene ,Phenotype ,Genotyping ,Human genetics ,Genetic architecture ,Exome sequencing - Abstract
SUMMARYGenetic interactions (GIs), the joint impact of different genes or variants on a phenotype, are foundational to the genetic architecture of complex traits. However, identifying GIs through human genetics is challenging since it necessitates very large population sizes, while findings from model systems not always translate to humans. Here, we combined exome-sequencing and genotyping in the UK Biobank with combinatorial RNA-interference (coRNAi) screening to systematically test for pairwise GIs between 30 lipid GWAS genes. Gene-based protein-truncating variant (PTV) burden analyses from 240,970 exomes revealed additive GIs for APOB with PCSK9 and LPL, respectively. Both, genetics and coRNAi identified additive GIs for 12 additional gene pairs. Overlapping non-additive GIs were detected only for TOMM40 at the APOE locus with SORT1 and NCAN. Our study identifies distinct gene pairs that modulate both, plasma and cellular lipid levels via additive and non-additive effects and nominates drug target pairs for improved lipid-lowering combination therapies.
- Published
- 2020
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