Genetic regulatory signatures underlying islet gene expression and type 2 diabetes.
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2-28-2017
JAX Source
Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017 Feb 28; 114(9):2301-2306
Volume
114
Issue
9
First Page
2301
Last Page
2306
ISSN
1091-6490
PMID
28193859
Grant
SR00DK092251
Abstract
Genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have identified >100 independent SNPs that modulate the risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and related traits. However, the pathogenic mechanisms of most of these SNPs remain elusive. Here, we examined genomic, epigenomic, and transcriptomic profiles in human pancreatic islets to understand the links between genetic variation, chromatin landscape, and gene expression in the context of T2D. We first integrated genome and transcriptome variation across 112 islet samples to produce dense cis-expression quantitative trait loci (cis-eQTL) maps. Additional integration with chromatin-state maps for islets and other diverse tissue types revealed that cis-eQTLs for islet-specific genes are specifically and significantly enriched in islet stretch enhancers. High-resolution chromatin accessibility profiling using assay for transposase-accessible chromatin sequencing (ATAC-seq) in two islet samples enabled us to identify specific transcription factor (TF) footprints embedded in active regulatory elements, which are highly enriched for islet cis-eQTL. Aggregate allelic bias signatures in TF footprints enabled us de novo to reconstruct TF binding affinities genetically, which support the high-quality nature of the TF footprint predictions. Interestingly, we found that T2D GWAS loci were strikingly and specifically enriched in islet Regulatory Factor X (RFX) footprints. Remarkably, within and across independent loci, T2D risk alleles that overlap with RFX footprints uniformly disrupt the RFX motifs at high-information content positions. Together, these results suggest that common regulatory variations have shaped islet TF footprints and the transcriptome and that a confluent RFX regulatory grammar plays a significant role in the genetic component of T2D predisposition. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017 Feb 28; 114(9):2301-2306.
Recommended Citation
Varshney A,
Scott L,
Welch R,
Erdos M,
Chines P,
Narisu N,
Albanus R,
Orchard P,
Wolford B,
Kursawe R,
Vadlamudi S,
Cannon M,
Didion J,
Hensley J,
Kirilusha A,
Bonnycastle L,
Taylor D,
Watanabe R,
Mohlke K,
Boehnke M,
Collins F,
Parker S,
Stitzel ML.
Genetic regulatory signatures underlying islet gene expression and type 2 diabetes. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2017 Feb 28; 114(9):2301-2306