Large-scale association analyses identify new loci influencing glycemic traits and provide insight into the underlying biological pathways
Scott RA., Lagou V., Welch RP., Wheeler E., Montasser ME., Luan J., MäGi R., Strawbridge RJ., Rehnberg E., Gustafsson S., Kanoni S., Rasmussen-Torvik LJ., Yengo L., Lecoeur C., Shungin D., Sanna S., Sidore C., Johnson PCD., Jukema JW., Johnson T., Mahajan A., Verweij N., Thorleifsson G., Hottenga JJ., Shah S., Smith AV., Sennblad B., Gieger C., Salo P., Perola M., Timpson NJ., Evans DM., Pourcain BS., Wu Y., Andrews JS., Hui J., Bielak LF., Zhao W., Horikoshi M., Navarro P., Isaacs A., O'Connell JR., Stirrups K., Vitart V., Hayward C., Esko T., Mihailov E., Fraser RM., Fall T., Voight BF., Raychaudhuri S., Chen H., Lindgren CM., Morris AP., Rayner NW., Robertson N., Rybin D., Liu CT., Beckmann JS., Willems SM., Chines PS., Jackson AU., Kang HM., Stringham HM., Song K., Tanaka T., Peden JF., Goel A.
Through genome-wide association meta-analyses of up to 133,010 individuals of European ancestry without diabetes, including individuals newly genotyped using the Metabochip, we have increased the number of confirmed loci influencing glycemic traits to 53, of which 33 also increase type 2 diabetes risk (q < 0.05). Loci influencing fasting insulin concentration showed association with lipid levels and fat distribution, suggesting impact on insulin resistance. Gene-based analyses identified further biologically plausible loci, suggesting that additional loci beyond those reaching genome-wide significance are likely to represent real associations. This conclusion is supported by an excess of directionally consistent and nominally significant signals between discovery and follow-up studies. Functional analysis of these newly discovered loci will further improve our understanding of glycemic control. © 2012 Nature America, Inc. All rights reserved.